In Which Addison & Pete try to get it together
by loveisacage
Summary: Starts after 1x09. It's AddiePete obviously. Addison says yes. Pete knows she's worth fighting for.
1. This was Addison

Addison entered Oceanside Thursday morning on a mission. She needed to find Naomi. She needed to tell her about last night. She'd done it. She'd said yes. She'd taken Pete's advice. She'd actually gone and asked her Cop guy out, and while she was excited about the actual act of asking someone out, she hated to admit she was a little disappointed. It wasn't everything she'd been hoping for. It wasn't that he wasn't a nice guy. He made her smile and the conversation was good. He was actually pretty perfect for her. Someone she saw major potential in. It's just that _he_ wasn't the _he_ that she wanted. She couldn't get _that_ he out of her mind. Lord knows why…

"Nae!" Addison called down the hall to her best friend.

"Addison," she breathed back, looking relieved to see her. "I **have** to talk to you. Something happened last night! I tried to call you! Where were you? Anyway, it doesn't matter. It's Dell," she lowered her voice to make sure only Addison could hear. "He Kissed me."

"What!" Addison gasped as she marched over to her office door and waved Naomi inside. She pulled the door closed behind her. "Ok, details. Obviously this is so much more important than the unfortunate dating troubles with my Cop."

"You went out on a date with Hot Cop?"

"Yeah, last night I went down to his station, asked him to have a drink with me, he said yes. We drank, talked, he kissed me. . ."

"That's great!" Naomi interrupted, "That's great, right?"

"It should be great. It would be great, if I could just stop thinking about. . . . I just didn't feel it, you know? There was no spark. No chemistry." She stopped there. She wasn't about to tell Naomi that the reason she didn't feel 'it' was because she'd still been thinking about Pete. She had enough to think about without having to hear about what a jerk everyone at Oceanside thought he would be to her. She already knew. He'd stood her up. God, he'd stood her up, and yet she was still thinking about what it felt like when his hands were holding her and when he was kissing her mouth. The way her lips tingled and her heart pounded, the way she went a little weak behind the knees. It almost made her angry that just the thought of feeling his lips on hers again could cloud her mind so much that she almost forgot to breathe. . .

"Addie!" Naomi said, snapping her out of her day dream. "I promise I'll let you know what I think about you and the Hot Cop/Pete triangle you've so obviously gotten yourself into, later, but do you think we can please get back to **my** dilemma here."

"Of course," She breathed, a little weight had been lifted now that the spotlight had been shifted from her and her oh so obvious man troubles, "Spill."

-

-

It was still early in the day when Addison and Naomi had decided to take a break from the girl talk and Addison had decided she was in serious need of some coffee. As she took a mug from the cupboard and began to pour she heard someone enter the break room behind her.

"So, I came to your house last night," Pete admitted straight out to Addison as he walked into the room and opened the refrigerator. "You weren't home."

"Yeah, I . . . I had a thing," she replied. She knew that admitting to Pete that her relationship, or acquaintance, or whatever it was, with Hot Cop wasn't going to be lasting any longer than their date last night was not a good idea.

"You were with Officer Manly." He stated, knowing that if she'd been anywhere with anyone else she would have told him.

"I was." She admitted truthfully, turning to face him. She noticed a look on Pete's face she'd never seen him make before. Was he? No. He couldn't be. He Was! Pete was jealous. Oh this is **good**, she thought. She was going to have **so** much fun with this.

"Well, good, you said yes. I mean, you're getting out there, dating. Good. Well, I've gotta," he motioned toward the door, "I've got a patient."

"Pete," Addison said stopping him just at the frame of the door, "Do you want to have lunch with me today?" She had a plan now.

"Addison. . ." he started, as he smiled his famous Pete grin as he looked down and shook his head a little.

"It's just a lunch invitation," She interrupted, "Between friends. We're doing the friend thing. Friends eat lunch." And then she gave him her Addison Montgomery million dollar smile.

"They do," he agreed. "We could do lunch." He'd caved. Damn it. If this woman can get him to agree to a lunch invitation with a smile, he didn't want to think about what else she could get him to do.

"Ok." She nodded. "Find me when you're done with your patient?"

"Yeah," Pete headed off down the hall back to his office. She wants to have lunch with me? A 'friend' lunch. If she thinks that I'm going to sit there and listen to her ramble on about her wonderful evening with Officer Manly she can forget it, he thought. Wait. No. He took that back. He needed to change. Usually, he would just say to hell with it, try and forget about her, move on. But this wasn't just another notch, this was Addison. Sexy, wonderful, beautiful, amazing Addison who made him smile just thinking about her. The only woman who'd made him feel anything, since his wife had died. She was worth it. Maybe he should be friendly and listen to what she had to say. He **had** decided to fight for her after all. But he was Pete. He had no idea what in the hell that meant he had to do… He was going to have to do something big, something huge. He hadn't had enough time to think that far ahead, but he figured for the moment he could start by being charming. Even if that did mean he had to listen to her talk about another guy. He did know one thing, though, if Pete Wilder turned on his A game, Officer Manly didn't stand a chance.

As she watched Pete wander away from her down the hall, she felt a smile tug at her lips. She was going to rub Hot Cop in his face until he cracked. She giggled a little to herself. Sure, Kevin was a nice guy. But it was Pete that she wanted, she just needed Pete to realize what he was missing, realize that he wanted her too.

If she only knew.


	2. She Was Wearing A Black Dress

Thanks to everyone who took the time to R&R. I hope this story helps you get through the tough days without PrP. I know I'm going crazy without it. . . and Merry Christmas.

oh and a Disclaimer, cause I forgot it last time: I own nothing. It's all Shonda and Co. If I did, Addie would be getting some lovin' cause it's her freaking show!

* * *

It was quarter after twelve when Addison heard a knock on her office door. It was still too early for it to have been Pete. He'd only left a half hour ago for his appointment. She was really hoping it wasn't Pete already. She'd barely had any time to sort out this little plan of hers. She was beginning to feel a little scared to be honest. What if she went to all this trouble, discarded the chance at a perfectly good relationship with someone else, only to be disappointed by Pete in the end. She was perfectly justified in her feelings of doubt. Everyone had warned her about him. But there were only a few tiny moments when she saw _that_ guy; the guy who couldn't commit, the guy who treated every woman the same. Most of the time, though, she saw Pete only as the good guy, not the guy the others kept warning about. Sure he kept a lot of feelings to himself, but she didn't know him all that well and asking to know everything about him all at once would have been asking too much from him. She knew that. Most days she could look past it, to the man she thought she saw behind the painful past. Maybe she was kidding herself thinking that Pete would want to change himself, open up to her. She suddenly felt a little sick to her stomach. Someone knocked again.

"Who is it?" She asked taking a deep breath in through her nose and letting it slowly out her mouth.

"It's Naomi."

"Oh!" She sighed, "Get in here already."

"So," Naomi began, taking a seat on the couch, "I know you may not want to hear what I have to say, but, I want to tell you what I think about the whole love triangle you've got going on."

"Okay." Addison agreed. At this point her head was so confused that she really did need someone to help her sort it out, but she had a feeling this conversation was definitely going to be pro Officer Nelson. She let Naomi speak anyway.

"I really think that you're being stupid if you end things with Kevin because of one bad night. I know you believe in that whole 'you can't fake chemistry' thing and I get that, I do. But maybe it's just different. You had that whole angry at Pete so you were hot for him thing going on and he's still got you thinking about him, but maybe if you spent a little more time with Kevin you'd see that he's a perfect guy for you and that eventually there could be the possibility of a little chemistry with him. If not, then, oh well, you tried. But don't you think you should give it a little more time before you decide for sure."

"I suppose you're right, Nae." She could give Kevin a little more time. Besides, if she really was going to make Pete jealous she'd have to keep him around for a while. Not that she wanted to use Kevin. No, she wouldn't lead him on or promise anything she didn't want to give. She'd just be making Pete jealous by having some fun. Oh God. When did she become the girl who wanted fun? It really was bad this thing Pete did to her. . .

Pete sat in his office for almost thirty minutes after he'd finished with his patient. He wasn't planning on bailing out on her again, that wasn't it. He was just thinking, remembering last night.

He'd waited on her porch for a while, although he didn't really know why he'd bothered. Deep down he'd known where she was. He can't say he wasn't surprised. Hell, he was the one who'd pushed her to do it. But it drove him crazy to think that she was out somewhere with _him_, that bastard Cop. Just because he had a badge and a gun, that made him sexy? Please. It should have been Pete who was taking her out, making her laugh, kissing her goodnight… That jerk was going to kiss her goodnight. The idea of his hands on her. . . He was beginning to feel a little sick to his stomach.

He shook the images out of his head and cursed at himself. Why was this so hard for him? Why was he always one step behind? Everything he'd realized he needed to say to her he had been realizing after the fact. After that night at Sam's when she'd kissed him, he wasn't expecting it and he'd never felt so much emotion from something so simple. Instead of telling her she was the only woman who'd ever made him feel like that in his life, he'd kissed her back, thinking that'd be enough. But, she'd walked away, and instead of following her, he watched her go. So he'd kissed her again and she'd said she wanted more, and instead of telling her the truth, that he was scared to fall in love again and that they'd have to take it slow, he'd said the wrong thing, tried to go to fast, and despite his best intentions still managed to be the guy who stood her up. Which was the very last thing he'd wanted to do, and he hadn't even told her he was sorry for doing it. He hadn't told her a lot of things. Things he was realizing he was going to have to say eventually if he wanted a fighting chance with her. He'd waited too long to feel like this again and somehow he was going to prove it to her. Even if it meant he'd have to watch her date that jerk Cop for a while. He knew it wouldn't last between them; at least that's what he was going to keep telling himself.

Friends, she'd asked him to be friends. That was what she wanted. So that was it, he decided. He was going to be the best damn friend she'd ever had and then she wouldn't see if coming. He'd distract her by being her friend. He was going to try and tell her everything, because it was Addison, and she was worth it. He just wouldn't tell her he had every intention of making her fall in love with him. Him, the last person she'd ever expect to make her happy.

Somewhat pleased with what he'd just decided, he grabbed his jacked and headed down the hall to her office. The door was open and he could see her doing paperwork at her desk. He watched her for a moment, tapping her fingernails on the desk and absentmindedly tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. He felt like he just wanted to stay that way, enjoying her beauty and the silence, but she must have heard him move because she'd looked up at him and she smiled.

"Where do you want to go for lunch?" She asked him.

"I do recall you being the one who asked _me_ out for lunch," he pointed out to her.

"Ok, you're right, but I'm still new around here. I don't know all the good lunch spots."

"Alright," Pete said smiling, "Let's go."

Addison grabbed her things and followed close behind Pete to the elevator. He pushed the button and looked over at her. She looked back. For a second they both waited for the other to say something, both feeling the tension flowing in around them. The doors opened and they stepped in.

"Remember the first day I met you?"

"What?" Addison replied even though she'd heard exactly what he'd said.

"I met you in this elevator. I came pushing in, late for something, I'm sure, and there you were," he smiled realizing they were standing in the same places they had been then. "You laughed at me."

"I wasn't laughing _at_ you!"

"You were laughing at me, and you said something about wanting to ride me in the, what was it that you called it? The. . . horny aphrodisiac elevator?"

She laughed out loud at this. She remembered the horny aphrodisiac elevator word vomit that had occurred that day. God she must have sounded completely crazy. "Yeah, dirty, that's _exactly_ what I said," she replied, shaking her head at him.

"Your hair was down, it was a little deeper red than it is now, and, you were wearing a little black dress."

"You remember what I was wearing?"

He didn't say anything, but she gazed at him as if she wasn't going to look away or let him move until he'd answered.

"Trust me," he said. "When you see the most beautiful woman you've ever seen in your life, you remember what she was wearing."

All she could do was look at him. She didn't care if he saw her smiling. There wasn't any way for her to hide it if she'd wanted to, and he was smiling back at her. She was almost scared to breathe in fear of ruining the moment. This was the Pete she'd wished everyone else would see. The one who made her heart beat faster just by smiling at her, who could say something like that to her and make her want to grab him by his face and kiss him hard. But she stopped herself and thought that maybe it was just one of those moments where he'd slipped and said something he hadn't meant to, and she'd never hear him say anything like it again.

He was still smiling at her and just as he was about to say something else the doors to the elevator opened revealing the lobby to them. Addison was the first to walk out and Pete followed.

She'd turned to the left heading toward the parking lot when Pete grabbed her by the hand to stop her. "Nope," he said, "We're walking," and he started in the other direction. He hadn't noticed he was still holding her hand until he felt the pull on his arm when he'd realized she hadn't moved. She was looking at their hands. They had absentmindedly intertwined their fingers with each other's. She'd wondered if they hadn't noticed because it felt so natural, they fit. As soon as he'd realized what she'd been looking at, he pulled his had away. He'd thought maybe the gesture had scared her even though he hadn't even been thinking when he'd done it.

She gave a little giggle and shook her head. Pete cleared his throat.

"So, this place you're taking me? Is it close?"

"It's just down the street," he nodded ahead of him and she followed him out the front door.


	3. They Were The Same

* * *

Sorry it took me so long to post this next Chapter. The Holidays were crazy. But now that they're over I promise not to wait so long between chapters. Thanks again to everyone who R&Red. I love to know what you think of the story!! And I still own nothing, damn it.

* * *

Just down the block and across the street was a tiny café with little tables on an outside deck that looked out to the ocean. It wasn't fancy, but Pete knew it could come off as a little bit romantic if Addison wanted it to, and if not, it wouldn't look like he was trying too hard.

"This place is cute," Addison observed as they were seated.

"Yeah, cute," he agreed sarcastically and Addison eyed him from across the table.

They were handed their menus and both sat in silence for a while, mostly pretending to read them because they were each taking turns stealing glances at one another over the top, quickly, so the other wouldn't see.

"So," she offered, breaking the silence and folding her menu down on the table. "What kind of voodoo magic did you choose to perform on your patient today," Addison quipped.

"It wasn't magic. I'm not a, Jesus, Addison, I'm a _doctor_," he breathed, sounding aggravated.

"You'll always be a quack to me," she offered. Although she had meant it in the best possible way, she knew Pete was about to get defensive.

"Did you ask me to lunch just so you could tell me how much you dislike me?"

"I didn't say I disliked you," she said in a completely honest tone. She probably should have followed that statement by telling him that she probably _should_ dislike him, seeing as how he'd stood her up. But she didn't, she knew he must have had a reason. Maybe if she was lucky, she'd get it out of him.

They were interrupted by the waitress who had appeared at their table and asked for their order. They both quickly decided on ice teas and salads and the waitress turned and left them alone again.

"I don't dislike you," she repeated. "I don't know you."

Pete smiled a little but didn't say anything. Of course she didn't know him. He really hadn't given her the chance. But this wasn't her saying she'd actually wanted to get to know him, was it? If it had been any other woman sitting across from him he'd have snapped back something about the fact that he probably wasn't worth knowing… that he'd convinced himself his damaged past and awful marriage had probably scarred him forever. That he wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to trust someone so completely again that he'd be willing to promise to love them and be with them forever. He couldn't tell her that for the last seven years of feeling that way, one look at her could make him feel as if she might be the one to change everything. Throw his cynicism out the window, fall madly in love. That was crazy, he couldn't tell her that, not yet. He'd be better off just letting her get to know him. What he liked and disliked, maybe prove to her that he profession wasn't total bull shit. _He_ was going to have to talk. Shit.

"Pete," she said, snapping him out of his daze, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just, thinking."

The awkward silence was back again and Addison was getting a little worried. Why was it so hard for them to hold a conversation? It could just be all the sexual chemistry getting in the way? Were they trying a little too hard? She'd hoped that it wasn't just physically that they clicked. She had to keep trying.

"So," Addison started, "Why'd you come to my house last night, everything okay? You could have called. You know, if you needed anything…" She trailed off and waited for him to take the bait.

"I could have?"

"Yes. We're friends."

"So you've stated. A few times now," he said stern at first but then he chuckled and relaxed a little. Talk, he told himself.

"I just mean, I'm here if you wanted to talk, or not talk." She closed her eyes and shook her head as soon as she'd said it, and when she'd opened them again she knew he'd picked up on it too because he was raising an eyebrow at her. "I didn't mean that in a dirty way, just a friendly way. Hell, I'm the first one to admit that being all alone is the worst feeling. It's always nice to have someone to talk to, or just be with you, sit with you, so you don't feel. . ."

"Alone?" Pete finished, and Addison nodded. "And you want to sit with _me_? Talk to _me_?

"Why not. We're…" She stopped short knowing he'd probably throw something at her if she'd called them friends again.

Pete laughed at knowing what she'd been about to say and exactly why she'd stopped herself from saying it. God she looked beautiful. He almost couldn't believe that the perfect, gorgeous woman across the table from him had just told him she'd be there if he'd wanted to talk. In all honesty he didn't deserve it. She had every right to refuse to have anything to do with him after the night he'd stood her up and never given her an explanation, but she wasn't refusing, she wasn't leaving. He'd already told her a little about his wife, and nothing had been weird. This wasn't going to be a bad thing. It would only help, if he opened up to her. He took a deep breath. Here goes nothing he thought.

"I don't open up to a lot of people. I don't open up to anyone, really, about my life before, about my wife. It was a long time ago and most of the time I'd rather just forget…"

Ok, that was a start, he thought, it was little, but a lot for him. He thought he'd feel more scared, but he didn't, and when he looked across the table and saw her looking back at him with a look of genuine caring in her eyes, he knew he wanted keep going. Sure he'd talked to Violet about it sometimes, but she was a professional. This was Addison. The one worth fighting for, and he'd realized wanted her to know everything.

"My wife," he said, "She made me feel like nothing I ever did for her was good enough. I tried my best to do everything to get her to be happy, like we were when we'd first gotten married. But something had changed. I wish I could tell you what it was, the defining moment, but I can't. Somewhere along the way she just disconnected. I tried to get her to talk to me, but it only made her more distant. I tried a lot of things, even convinced her that maybe having a baby might be what we needed to make us, _us_ again. She agreed, reluctantly. Most days I knew I wanted it more than she did, a family, but I really just wanted her to be happy. I wanted us to be happy. But it just got worse. She couldn't get pregnant, and it made her even angrier at me. She'd pick fights with me over the tiniest little things that never should have mattered. . . One day I thought I'd had enough, that I couldn't do it anymore. I came home from work with every intention of telling her I wanted a divorce. I sat her down, told her I had something to talk to her about. She'd said she had something to talk to me about, too. I felt relieved, that maybe we'd both been feeling the same thing. That it wouldn't be as painful if we both had wanted out. But that wasn't it. She didn't want out. She'd told me she was sick. That she was dying, and like a coward, I couldn't tell her I'd wanted to leave her. I. . . I couldn't let her die alone. I fought even harder after that, to make the time we had left with each other better. I took her on vacations, out to the most expensive restaurants, I was always with her, never wanted her to feel alone. Which was just so ironic about the whole thing, because I'd realized I'd never felt lonelier in my whole life. But I still fought for her, like a jackass, I thought that maybe, just maybe, one day she'd look at me and thank me, tell me she loved me, but she never did. And it was quick. She'd died just like that, and the worst part of it for me wasn't the fact that she was gone. It was feeling like everything I'd done was for absolutely nothing."

His voice had never faltered. But as he'd said the last word, one single tear was able to escape from the corner of his eye. Almost as soon as it had appeared he'd wiped it away. Mortified mostly at the fact that he'd just managed to blurt out everything he'd felt about his wife in ten minutes or less, but also at the idea that he'd let her see him so vulnerable. He stared at the table for the longest time, unable to say anything, or look up at her, in fear that the look of caring he'd seen in her eyes before had gone away and been replaced by something he could only imagine was terror, pity maybe.

Addison was staring at Pete, her eyes wide, Pete still staring at the table. Had that really just happened? She felt a twinge of guilt in her stomach. She'd been completely insensitive toward him all this time. She was suddenly regretting every horrible thing she'd ever said to him. She really didn't know him at all, but now she knew she'd wanted to. After listening to everything he'd said, she had discovered they were more alike than she'd realized. She knew he was waiting for her to say something, but she couldn't speak. She needed a moment to think of the right thing to say.

Pete had been waiting for what felt like hours to hear her voice, but the only sound he'd heard was the screeching of her chair being pushed away from the table, and before he knew it, she was up, moving over to his side of the table. She sat down next to him and took his hand in hers. He was completely surprised, still unable to speak.

It took her another moment to find her words, still unsure of the right thing to say. When she finally spoke it was soft, and he'd finally turned his head and looked at her.

"I wish that I had the perfect things to say to you. Something eloquent that would take the pain away… We both know nothing I could say would ever make it right. But, I'm sorry. I know it doesn't begin to help or comfort you, but I'm sorry that she made you feel like you weren't someone worth loving, worth fighting for. Believe me. I know the feeling better than anyone. I can still remember the exact moment _I'd_ realized it."

"Realized what?" he asked confused.

"That I wasn't someone worth fighting for. You can keep asking yourself forever why you weren't enough for them, but you'll never find an answer that's satisfying enough to make it stop hurting." She laughed for a moment, realizing she honestly still didn't know what she'd done in her marriage to cause her husband to become so distant. She continued, "If your crazy like me, you just move to a new city, and try to start over."

"Is that why you came here? You were trying to escape a crappy relationship?"

"It's a long story that mostly consists of me living in a lonely marriage to a guy who loved his job more than me. I did everything right, I thought, but while I was fighting for something, fighting for us, he did nothing. Look, it's very long and complicated, and seeing as how you've taken up most of the lunch hour talking about yourself, we'll have to save my ugly painful past for another day." She joked, and for the first time since before he'd done his rambling, he smiled at her.

"He's an Idiot, you know. You're better off without him, you deserve someone who. . . someone better."

"So do you."

"Sometimes I'm not so sure. Most days I'm convinced that if I ever fell in love again that I'd just wake up one day and find myself in exactly the same place."

"Pete, you can't think like that," she started, "You're not alone. My ex-husband, Derek, he treated me the same way your wife treated you. They made us feel like we weren't good enough. People like Derek and your wife are out there, yes, but not every woman you ever meet is going to treat you the way she did. One day you'll meet a girl who makes you realize you were wrong to think like that. She's out there, the one who's 'worth slugging it out for.'"

He laughed realizing her tone as she'd been doing her best imitation of herself saying the same thing to him the day before. One day I'll meet a girl who makes me realize I was wrong for thinking like that? It's you! He'd wanted to scream. That he didn't need to keep looking for _that_ woman because he'd already found her, she was sitting right next to him.

Instead he stated, "I should keep looking, get myself out there. It's a numbers game, remember."

She had her turn to giggle at the fact they were reusing yesterdays love logic again.

"I'm not so hungry anymore." Addison said, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's go." He agreed, as she stood up from beside him and returned to her side of the table to collect her things, "Hey, Addison."

"Yeah"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." She smiled. Feeling that for this being their very first lunch outing together, they were very successful.

-

-

The walked slowly back to Oceanside in silence, but a good silence, not the awkward kind from before. It was like they were completely comfortable in each others presence. They both silently agreed it was a very good feeling. Pete thought for one small second he should just reach over and grab her hand. Hell, he'd been doing all kinds of crazy things today for this woman, why stop now. He'd waited a few minutes and finally built enough courage to do it. He took his hand from his jacket and reached it down to place in hers. Just has he was about to take hold, she'd pulled her hand up and reached into her bag to grab her cell phone that had begun ringing. Pete returned his hand to his jacket pocket, and tried to pretend like he hadn't noticed who she'd said hello to.

"Kevin. Hi. Yeah I had a good time last night, too. Sure, dinner sounds good. Eight is fine. See you tonight."

Damn it. He'd almost forgotten about him, Officer Manly. He was feeling sick to his stomach again. She couldn't possibly _like_ this guy. Damn it. After everything he'd shared with her over lunch, there was no way in hell he wanted to share _her_. Not with this guy, not with any guy. Damn it. He was falling for her, and he wasn't even scared, about the possibility of loving her that is. But, he was scared as hell to lose her to some jackass. He could feel his heart rising up in his throat. What could he possibly say? He couldn't give her an ultimatum now. Asking her to choose him, Pete was not that guy. Damn it…

"Big date tonight?" Pete asked.

She laughed. "I guess. I'm not sure how I feel about him yet. I guess we'll see." Shit. She had almost forgotten about the plan. After everything Pete and she had talked about, she was sure that it wouldn't take long for whatever they had to develop into something if they wanted it to. She hoped that was what Pete wanted. But then again, she had her doubts, just because they'd had one successful day didn't mean he was ready for the things she was ready for. There was no need to jump to any conclusions, she'd wait it out, have some fun with Kevin in the meantime.

Pete stopped and said, "Can I ask you a favor?" Addison stopped walking and turned to look at him. "You don't have to agree, because it's kind of crazy, what I'm about to ask you. It's just, I want you to be happy, and _I_ hurt you, I know that, and I am unbelievably sorry about it. I know that right now I'm not the perfect guy that you want, but I'm trying; to get back to the guy I used to be. You're worth it. I'm not asking you to wait for me to get back there, you don't owe me anything and you deserve to be happy, but, if you could just promise me one thing…"

"What, Pete?" she asked slowly still processing everything he'd just said to her.

"Promise me you won't fall in love with him?"

She looked him right in the eyes. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? That _he_ wanted to be the guy for her. That he wanted to be a better guy for her. Was this just another thing he'd let slip out, something charming he hadn't really meant to say. But he was looking back at her and smiling and she'd realized she couldn't breathe, she'd realized he was completely serious.

"Okay," she agreed.


	4. He Didn't Have To Do All This

Lunch had quickly become Pete and Addison's thing. For the next three weeks they'd had lunch together almost everyday. Even on the weekends when they didn't have the excuse of work, Pete would stop by her house, just to see if she were free. They talked about Kevin sometimes. They were 'taking it slow, nothing serious' she would tell Pete. But she could still see a little hint of jealousy in his eyes whenever she mentioned his name and she had to admit, she was relieved. They talked about themselves, too. Asked questions, got to know each other, and at this point there was no denying that they really did like one another. It was something beyond their flirtatious sexual banter, they were connecting as friends. They actually were beginning to respect each other as people, something they had both silently realized they'd never done before with a member of the opposite sex.

"You know, I never thought I'd say this, but, I really, really like being your friend," Addison half joked as Pete handed his credit card to the waiter, "But you know, you could let me pay every once in a while."

"My mother always told me that the company of a beautiful woman alone is always more than enough reason for the man to pay for the meal." Pete said honestly.

"So, it's really your mother I need to be friends with." Addison quipped.

"My mother isn't half as good looking or as charming as I am." Pete smarted back.

She shook her head at him. Although she knew the smart ass side of Pete would never really go away, she was now finding it more endearing than she had before. She figured it was mostly because instead of being silent or cold afterwards, Pete communicated now. It wasn't perfect, yet, but he did open up to her, and everyday she could see pieces of his old bitter and cynical self start to melt away.

Suddenly her cell phone began to ring. She pulled it from her bag and checked the ID to find it was Kevin calling. She hit the silence button and threw it back in her bag.

"Boyfriend issues?" Pete asked.

"He's not my boyfriend, and there are no issues. We're in the middle of lunch; it would be rude to answer."

Pete shook his head a little and smiled. He'd paid and although they were waiting for the return of his credit card, it wouldn't have been at all impolite of her to have answered. He felt good inside knowing she didn't want to interrupt their time.

Addison had gone out with Kevin half a dozen times over the past few weeks. He was very polite, and he really, really liked to talk. Which was a good thing, Addison had convinced herself. It gave him something else to focus on. The subject of which she was hoping to keep his mind off of, however, began with an S and ended in EX. He was a good looking guy and of course the sex conversation had come up a couple of times. One night at his place he'd tried very hard to get her to sleep with him, but she wouldn't. She said she wanted to wait until it felt right. What she consciously never added to that statement was that she was sure, with Kevin, it would never feel right. Not unless there was a tall, dark, and extremely handsome hippie doctor hiding somewhere in his police uniform. Crap. She told herself she should just end it now with Kevin, he was never going to be who she really wanted. But she was having fun, and although she was closer than ever to Pete, he still hadn't really done anything to show Addison he was ready for a relationship with her. And then she'd remembered why she came up with this plan in the first place. She'd call Kevin back as soon as she'd returned to the office.

-

-

"I'm scared of turning 40," Addison had blurted out the next afternoon at lunch.

Pete laughed a little. How could someone as confident and gorgeous as Addison possibly be worried of turning one year older? She didn't look 40, hell, she barely looked over 35. Perfect and gorgeous, no matter what age, that's what he should have told her.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I hit the forties a few years ago and although the build-up seems scary, once you actually get there, it just feels like another day."

"How many years is a few?" Addison asked curiously, no matter what his answer was, she knew he was ridiculously good looking for his age, especially when he smiled at her like she was nuts, the exact smile he was giving her now.

"Six."

"Really?" She said, sounding surprised, she'd been expecting him to admit even a little older than that.

"You gonna give me a bad time about being an old man?"

"No, it's just, you look. . ."

"Old." He interrupted.

"No." she said somewhat forcefully, "you look great."

He just smiled at her again, she knew that meant 'thank you'.

"Don't be afraid to be 40. I'll bet you look better now than you did fifteen years ago anyway…" Pete trailed off and it was her turn to smile at him. Pete offered her compliments at every available moment, and even though she thought she'd gotten used to the feeling they gave her, she still blushed every time.

"It's not that. I mean, I certainly hope I age gracefully, of course, but it's not just that. It's a whole accumulation of things. It's the divorced thing, the husband thing, the kids thing."

"Ahh," Pete breathed, beginning to understand what she was saying, "Well let me see if I can help you sort this out. Ok, so the divorced thing, not really an issue. Live and learn. Now you know what _not_ to do in the next one. Husband thing, you'll find one. Any sane man on this earth would be an idiot not to want to marry you. Waking up every morning and seeing your face would be one hell of a way to spend the rest of your life." He looked up at her when he'd said this and noticed the warm pink sensation was returning to her cheeks as she looked down at the table. "As for the kids thing, there's a bunch of alternative options, if you really want it badly enough."

"I suppose. It's just, when I came here, the first time. Remember?"

"Oh, I remember it very well. . ."

"I thought I wanted a baby, that I could do it myself. If the guy thing wasn't going to happen then I at least wanted a child in my life. But the truth is I think I was just tired of being... tired, and lonely. Now that I think about it, I can't imagine bringing a child into this world without a father, without a home and a family. But the longer it takes to find _the _life, the chances get smaller, and so does the dream, you know?"

"If it's really your dream then you should never tell yourself it's not going to happen or it won't. . ."

"Please stop there," Addison begged with a laugh, "I don't think I can handle a 'visualize your destiny' speech from you today."

"Ok." He laughed, she was getting to know him too well.

"But, seriously, you don't think I'm stupid for holding on to something that might never happen for me?"

"I absolutely do not think you're stupid. It's nice to have something to hold on to."

"Thank You," she replied, not knowing what else to say. This was one of those moments when she'd hoped he'd just admit it was him, he was the guy, that they could have the life. But he didn't, and it was stupid of her to hope for so much so soon. "Hey, do me a favor? Don't tell anyone it's my birthday. I don't want anyone making a huge deal about it. Plus, its two days before Christmas and everyone is busy and has enough on their minds. I just, just promise me you won't tell."

"I won't. You got a hot date?"

"Not yet," she replied.

"Does he know it's your birthday?"

"Kevin?" she asked stupidly. "Yeah, he knows."

"Then you will."

-

-

It was December 23rd, the big day. Pete was right. The build up was definitely worse than what she was actually feeling, which was exactly like he said, just another year older. She half expected to get weird looks from people, like they'd all just know she'd hit forty. But everyone was the same and she was relieved. She'd treated her patients and gotten through the day, but something about it seemed off. Then she realized it was because she hadn't seen Pete all day. This would have marked the first day all week they hadn't had lunch together. It wouldn't have been a big deal, except he was the only one at work who knew about her birthday, and though she said she didn't want it to be a big deal, she was really looking forward to a birthday lunch with Pete. Damn it. She'd let herself feel disappointed by him, again. She'd set herself up for it and she couldn't even blame him, it was her fault for thinking it would be different this time.

She left Oceanside about six thirty and was hurrying to get home. She'd bought herself an amazing birthday outfit, decided to if she was going to be forty she was going to look hot. It was black silk, dangerously low cut. She'd really bought it hoping that Pete would ask her to do something; she had told him she didn't have any plans, after all. But Kevin had called the night before inviting her to dinner and she thought it impolite to refuse, especially if it meant spending the night alone. A date with Kevin was certainly better than _no_ date with Pete.

She'd hurried in from the car, threw open the door quickly and started for the stairs. She paused for a second and turned back down the stairs and hit the light. Her eyes scanned the room for a second in disbelief. There were what she was sure had to be at least fifty different kinds of flowers filling her entire house. Some in vases, some still wrapped in paper, others tied with beautiful bows. They covered the counter tops in the kitchen, filled the living room. There were bouquets on the coffee table and all over the floor leading up to the stairs; she could only imagine that when she followed them upstairs there would be a whole bedroom full waiting for her, too. They were the most beautiful flowers she'd ever seen.

"Oh, my god." She finally gasped out loud. She'd never thought of Kevin as a grand gestures type of guy.

She couldn't help but smile the whole time she was changing, and she began to feel a little nervous. She put on her shoes, threw on some lipstick, and grabbed a daisy out of the vase next to her bed as she grabbed her purse and headed down stairs. She gasped when she'd reached the bottom stair, startled to see someone standing in the living room.

"I didn't mean to scare you." Pete started as he turned around to face her. "Wow, you look, beautiful."

"Thank You" she replied with a smile, happier to see Pete than she probably should be, Kevin would be there any second.

"Looks like you've got a date tonight."

She laughed at how obvious the answer was but couldn't help but think she'd change her mind in a second if he would have asked her to stay with him. "Kevin should be here any minute. How'd you get in here anyway?"

"Someone must have been in a hurry. You left the door open." He nodded over towards the door which was still ajar, keys still in the lock. "Happy Birthday," he said moving toward where she was standing at the bottom of the stairs and he handed her a small box.

Before she'd had a chance to take it from him they heard a small knock and turned to notice Kevin had appeared at the open door, bouquet of red roses in hand.

Addison looked from Kevin slowly back to Pete and met his eyes. It was Pete? He smiled softly and looked down at his feet, _so_ obviously guilty. She didn't know what to do. If Kevin hadn't been in the room she was positive she would have kissed him right then and there. But she couldn't speak. She was still staring at Pete who was staring at the floor.

"I'd say these are for you, but it looks like someone's got you covered."

"No," she said finally looking away from Pete. She began walking over to him, "These are great, thank you." She took the flowers from him and made room on the counter for them. Pete had looked up at her as she'd walked away, and now Kevin was picking up on the tension because he was staring back and forth from Addison to Pete.

"They're from everyone at Oceanside," he lied as he made his way to the door, "Oh," he said realizing he was still holding the little box in his hands. "Here," he said handing it to her quickly, "you guys have a good night."

"Wait, Pete." She said, and turned to Kevin, "I just need one second, can I meet you at the car?"

"Ok," he agreed, turning back out the door closing it behind him.

When she was sure he'd gone, she opened the box. Inside where the most beautiful pair of gold diamond earrings she'd ever seen.

"Pete. . ." she started.

"You're the only woman I've ever seen who actually looks amazing in gold jewelry. Most women don't know how to wear it. They make it look, tacky, but not you. I'm sure you could make wearing a plastic bag look sexy, look at you."

She beamed at him and couldn't hide her huge smile."Pete, this is. . ."

"Too much?" He cut her off. "The flowers, maybe. It's just that it was very hard to figure out your favorite flower when I wasn't allowed to breathe a word of it to our friends. I decided instead of guessing, because I had about one in fifty chance of being wrong, I'd get them all, and you'd at least like one or two of them, right?"

"The tulips and daisys are my favorite. The roses are so, expected." She shared. And they both laughed when they'd realized Kevin's roses were the only ones in the room.

"You didn't have to do all this," she said shaking her head. She walked a few steps forward so that she was standing right in front of Pete. She stared up at his face and for a minute they just looked at each other; neither of them had to say anything. She looked down and placed a hand on his chest, then looked back up at him again when she'd felt how fast his heart was beating. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "You really didn't have to do this."

"I wanted to, and hey, I'm sorry about missing lunch today." He said stepping forward closing the small gap that had been between them so now they were pressed to each other. They both breathed heavily for a moment, trying to ignore the tension, but it felt so right.

"I'm sorry, I have to go." She finally broke the silence.

"Right, of course, you should. Go."

"I'm really sorry that I have a date tonight." She said and kissed his the other side of his face right next to his ear, "Thank you," she whispered.

And with that, she turned at walked out the door to join her date. She should have felt worse, she thought, as she was walking toward Kevin's car. Kevin was being very thoughtful and he was waiting out here for her, it was just, how could she feel anything but wonderful. She was sure that no man had ever made her feel the way Pete just had. This just may have been the start of something good.

* * *

A/N: thanks again to everyone who is reading!! It makes me so happy to hear what you think of the story!! I apologize if Pete is getting too out of character, it's just that in my heart I know sexy, thoughful Pete is the only way he can be. :) Which brings me to remind, that I own nothing, I think we all know what whould be different if I did. Please continue to R&R!

* * *


	5. For Starters, We Hate The Yankees

* * *

Addison tried particularly hard to focus during dinner;_ any_ certain area would have been acceptable at this point, but nothing. She couldn't focus on the menu or the waiter attempting to take her order, the lights, the music, or her date. Her chest was starting to hurt and she felt like she might vomit. This was very bad. If she didn't end this now she realized she'd never be sure how many more focus-less dates with Kevin she'd have to endure. As unpredictable as Pete was, she was sure if she let him, he'd continue with the impossibly sweet gestures and the cute hippie boy smiles forever. Until she'd finally have to admit that he'd won. She was only delaying the inevitable if she kept this up. She was trying to find the right words to say to him. Find some sort of truth that didn't make her seem like she was just using him, then discarding him, now that there was the idea someone better. God she was a horrible person, she thought. Just tell him already. And then suddenly, she didn't have to.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?"

"What?" she muttered, only half snapping out of her funk.

"It's pretty obvious that you haven't stopped thinking about him since we left your house. I like you, but I don't want to keep doing this if . . ."

"I'm so sorry," She interrupted, finally looking at his face for what she was sure was the first time since they'd left her house. "You're a very nice man, and I do like you a lot, it's just, you're not—"

"I'm not him."

"No, you're not," she swallowed, she felt awful. "I'm so sorry," She breathed again. Being completely honest with him, and with herself, for the first time was actually making her feel slightly relieved.

"It's okay. Let me take you home," he offered, and she more than happily agreed.

--

After exchanging pleasant goodbyes to each other in the car, Addison exited, and walked up the driveway to the porch without looking back. She was completely exhausted. All she wanted to do was kick off her shoes and climb into bed, she thought, as she turned the knob on the door. She'd thrown her stuff on the counter in the kitchen, smiling a little at all of the flowers still surrounding her. She grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and an apple off the counter and turned for the stairs. Something from the living room startled her and she almost would have screamed if she hadn't seen his face. Pete was sitting on her couch.

"Damn it, Pete, you scared me." She half whispered, although not really sure why. When he didn't say anything back she moved closer to him. From where she was standing before she could barely make out his face in the dark, but as she walked toward him, she noticed that his eyes were closed. "Pete," she said again, but he didn't move. He was a very deep sleeper, she thought. She couldn't help but laugh out loud at the sight of Pete asleep sitting straight up, his head kinked to one side. She shouldn't leave him like that, she thought. Although she was sure if she had, he'd just perform some voodoo magic on his neck in the morning and be all good again, but instead she decided it would be more fun to wake him.

She got on the couch next to him up on her knees and leaned over so that her face was right next to his, "Pete, wake up!" she said loudly, and he jumped, gasped, and opened his eyes startled to see her staring at him still only inches from his face.

"What the hell?" he asked and she laughed again at the groggy moan she heard in his voice.

"I should be asking _you_ that question." Addison remarked and moved back on the couch so that she was finally sitting. She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. "Have you been here all night?" She of course knew that he had, but she wanted to hear what he had to say.

"No, I went for a romantic walk on the beach, dinner, dancing— of course I've been here all night." He snapped, rubbing his hands on his face, then his eyes, but there was no hope of rubbing the sleep out of them.

"Tired Pete is very snarky." Addison observed. "You need to go back to bed."

"I can't even keep my eyes open, how in the hell am I going to drive myself home?" he yawned.

"You can stay here on the couch if you want," Addison offered.

"No offence, but this is like the least comfortable couch in all of couch history. Why in the hell did you even buy this thing?"

She laughed out loud again. Pete ranting with his eyes half open was very entertaining, and so adorable. "Because it was cute."

"You are the only person in the world who would by a couch just because it was cute." He sounded annoyed, but she knew him well enough to know he didn't mean it.

"Well, you can go up and sleep in my bed, then, and I'll sleep on the couch."

"I'm not kicking you out of _your_ bed so that you have to sleep down here on the couch from hell. I'll just go," he said standing slowly as he began to scan the room for his jacket. He was clearly trying to blink the sleep from his eyes, and she giggled again.

"We could both sleep in the bed." She stated plainly, making sure she wasn't making it sound like a bigger deal than it was. Still, he turned and raised an eyebrow at her. "On two conditions; One: You get to take off your belt and your shoes, but all other articles of clothing stay on, mister, and Two: hands to yourself, Deal?"

"Deal." He figured he agreed more quickly than he should have, but she was already up from the couch making her way to the stairs. He watched her go, and for a second he couldn't move. He almost immediately shook any thoughts from his mind. He wasn't going to think about what this meant or if it was a good idea, not now. He followed after her up the stairs.

When he reached the bedroom he didn't see her at first, but turned the corner to realize she was in the bathroom. She'd undone her dress from behind her neck and let fall to the floor, revealing her breasts to him in the mirror, although she hadn't noticed he'd come in. Though his mind was cloudy, he was sure that for reasons he thought had something to do with him trying to be a gentleman he should have immediately looked away, but he couldn't. He looked up to see her face in the reflection. She was with out a doubt the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen. She quickly pulled a fitted Yankees T-shirt over her head, tied her hair back into a ponytail, and ran some water over her face. She'd walked back out into the bedroom to her dresser and pulled out a pair of sweats when she noticed he was there and that he'd been watching her.

"What?" she questioned and smiled, "I _know_ you've seen women in their underwear before."

"— and none of them ever looked like you." He gushed, and she beamed. It was silent for a moment after that as she pulled on her sweats and made her way over to the left side of the bed. He did as she'd prefaced and removed his belt and shoes, moving toward the right. "We are going to have to do something about that shirt of yours, however," He said, and she shot him a look. "Ok, dirty, no. I meant the Yankees shirt in general, needs to go. Someone needs to teach you a thing or two about baseball."

"We're not supposed to like the Yankees?" She asked as she climbed into her side of the bed.

"Absolutely not," he replied as he climbed in as well.

"I just thought the shirt was cute," she said shifting onto her side so she was facing him.

"You're terrible," he said shaking his head, "Why am I not surprised."

"They wouldn't ever teach me about sports, they always said I wouldn't understand it or be interested in it anyway." Addison admitted quietly. Pete gave her a look like he didn't know what in the world she was talking about, so she clarified. "The ex-husband, Derek, and his best friend Mark. They loved the Yankees."

It was silent again for a moment and Addison rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She'd almost forgotten about them completely until that moment. Damn it. She still hadn't told Pete _the _story. She probably should sooner rather than later, the truth was inevitable. Oh god, what if Pete couldn't look at her the same. The last thing she wanted was to scare him away. What if he judged her just like everyone else who'd ever heard the story. But maybe he wouldn't, and she would never know until she said it, but not tonight. Their night had become pretty close to perfect she thought, and she didn't want to ruin it. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of Pete's voice.

"Addison?" he asked quietly, as if checking to see that she was still awake.

"Yeah?"

"I would. You know, teach you about baseball, if you wanted me to."

She smiled and turned over to him, he was still facing her.

"Okay." She agreed.

"For starters, we hate the Yankees."

"I think I like that idea. But you're still not getting me to take my shirt off," she said shooting him a look.

"Maybe another night," he said sounding satisfied.

"Maybe."

* * *

Sorry this chapter is so short, but I had to break it up somewhere. Don't worry the next few chapters are long, and we're gettin to the good stuff, so hang in there. Thanks again so much to everyone who is reading and reviewing. so much love. :) I still own nothing, but I'll keep wishing.

* * *


	6. Of Course Its You

Pete's eyes flickered slowly open as he heard the sound of the bathroom door close. It was the first time he'd opened his eyes and hadn't seen her next to him. He'd been woken up numerous times in the night by Addison either kicking him, or smacking him with her arm. The third time he'd been awoken he fought the sudden urge to just reach out and grab her. He wanted to pull her into him and wrap his arms around her. Mostly because he'd wanted to calm her restless sleeping of course, but then there was also the fact that watching this beautiful woman asleep next to him without being able to touch her was driving him crazy. But he remembered the hands to himself deal he made with her and figured if he wanted another chance at sleeping in her bed again, he'd better make sure to respect her rules.

He sat up in bed and for a few minutes he tried to decide what to say to her. He wanted to tell her how completely comfortable he felt, well besides the kicking and the smacking, of course. He wanted to tell her that he'd do whatever it took to make them work because if one night of no touching and just sleeping could make him wake up feeling like he did at that moment, he could only imagine what it would feel like if he could actually wake up holding her in his arms. He drifted off into more thoughts about mornings with Addison when suddenly he heard the water in the bathroom turn off and something slam, which he assumed was the shower door.

A few minutes later, Addison emerged, hair dripping wet and wrapped in a towel. She made her way to the closet first carefully selecting her outfit for the day, then over to the dresser. She was sifting through her bras in the top drawer when Pete interrupted—

"The black one," he suggested.

Addison looked over that the bed startled, "I'm sorry," she said looking down at herself in the towel and running a hand through her hair, feeling self conscious for some reason, "I thought you were still asleep."

"So, if you thought I was going to be awake you would have come out wearing nothing?" he said hopefully, but she shot him a look, grabbed the black bra from the drawer, and turned back to the bathroom. "What time is it?" he questioned, still staring at her as she walked away.

"It's late," She called from the bathroom, although she'd only half closed the door this time. "It's noon – almost twelve thirty, actually. I don't think I've slept this late since I was fifteen. I was hoping to get started few hours ago, though, I have an extremely busy day, and I need to get moving."

"You got another hot date with Officer Manly tonight?" he asked, hoping to God the answer was no. He'd completely forgotten the reason he was at her house last night in the first place was because he was waiting for her to get back from her date with Kevin. He was going to assume there was a very good chance the date hadn't gone particularly well, seeing as how he was the one she was waking up in bed with and not him. But still, he was curious. He'd been making all these plans in his head, about more mornings with her, about wanting everything with her, but what if they weren't on the same page. She was still seeing Kevin and it's not like it was anything but a friendly invitation to share her bed last night. Maybe he was the only one waking up thinking it meant more.

"Sam and Naomi are having a Christmas party tonight, did you forget?" She said coming back out of the bathroom and looking at him.

"The party, no, of course I remembered," he lied. He'd completely forgotten. Come on, he had a lot on his mind.

"Apparently Naomi thinks I'm her go to gal for all things party related. I've got a list a mile long of things to do, crap to buy. She's got all this food she wants me to get, which is a terrible mistake, seeing as how I cannot cook to save my life. Plus there's no snow. How do you get in the Christmas spirit around here without snow? "she said sounding a little too stressed.

"Take a breath." Pete offered, "I'll help you, if you want."

"Really? Are you sure?" She smiled.

"Of course I'm sure, I'm a wonderful cook." He said getting up from bed and walking toward her with that cocky smile of his playing on his lips. "Come on, it will be fun."

--

An hour later they were at the grocery store, which was a mad house, and Pete could tell it was making her anxious. "God, why did I wait until the last minute to shop, I should know better. I used to be good at Christmas," she breathed.

"Stop stressing out, everything is going to be fine. You've been busy. Work is crazy and, you know, all those dates you've been going out on."

Addison could hear that tone in his voice, the one that made her smile inside knowing that Pete was jealous. Although she'd ended things with Kevin, and she wondered if the best time to tell Pete was going to be now. She was looking at him walk next to her and couldn't help but smile thinking how cute it was that he was shopping with her. He threw a few things in the cart, including some herbal tea she almost immediately threw back out.

"We don't need tea, I hate tea."

"We do need tea, I like tea. I can't drink coffee in the mornings."

"Fine," she agreed and threw it back in, but not before sharing a look with Pete. She hoped he'd meant it exactly the way it had come out, that he was planning on last night not being the only time he'd ever stay over. She wondered if he was thinking the same things she was about last night. If he knew the sharing of the bed gesture really did mean more to her than just sleep. She had watched him this morning, for almost an hour before she'd gotten up to take a shower, just thinking about how everything would have been perfect if she'd just reached over and snuggled up next to him, letting him take her in his arms. And now the idea of waking up and making coffee for her and tea for Pete was keeping her mind completely occupied.

"How was your date last night with Officer Manly?" Pete tried to ask with genuine curiosity.

"All the sudden you're so curious about him?" she said trying to avoid actually answering for as long as possible.

"Well, you ended up in bed with me last night, so something must have happened, or not happened." He said with a smile on his face.

"Kevin and I decided it maybe wasn't such a good idea to see each other anymore," she admitted.

"Really," Pete said sounding satisfied.

"I think he was a little jealous of you, or angry with me for not sleeping with him."

"You never slept with him?" Pete repeated, surprised, not that he was hoping she _had_. But the fact that she hadn't, it had to mean something, right? Just as he was about to ask, she spoke.

"It wouldn't have been right to sleep with him when I would have spent the whole time wishing he were someone else."

"I hope to God you mean me," he'd blurted out. Though he was sure they could continue with the compliments and the grand gestures and the dropping of the occasional hit at ideas of relationships, it was time to start talking about what they wanted, he thought.

She just smiled at him at first and kept walking. After a few minutes of them adding a few final items to the cart they made their way up to the check out. When they'd stopped at their place in line she turned to him, "Of course it's you."

--

The party at Sam's was supposed to start at seven, and seeing as how it was almost six, Addison began begging Pete to cook faster.

"You can't just sit there and watch me do everything, and then tell me to go faster," Pete laughed at her.

"Honestly, I'd love to help you but, I told you, I'm a terrible cook. Plus it's so much more fun to sit here and watch you. Faster, please," she teased him.

"Look, I'm almost done. You're going to have to watch the oven for a while though, I have to go home," he said throwing a tray into the oven and looking at her, she looked a little sad. "You don't think it's a good idea for me to go to the party wearing the same thing I was yesterday, do you?"

"You can't leave me here with the food, it could be dangerous." She joked, but then realized Pete's clothes did look a little like he'd slept in them, he really should change. She laughed a little, "Fine… if I _have_ to let you go. Thanks for helping me today. I would have been a mess without you," she said standing from the stool she'd been so happily watching Pete from, and walked toward him.

"You're very welcome. It would have been a terrible thing for me to have seen the food you'd have to offer the party tonight if it hadn't been for me." He wiped his hands of on a dish rag, and moved closer to her as well.

"Don't worry. I'll tell everyone it was all you. I wouldn't want you to go and get your huge ego all bruised. . ."

But he'd put both his hands on her face and pulled her into a kiss before she could finish. It was slow at first as he waited for her to respond. When she began to kiss him back, he traced his hands down her body to the small of her back and she reached up and put a hand behind his neck to make sure he kept his lips firmly against hers. It lasted only a moment longer before he pulled away, but he still kept his face close to hers. "I want to continue this, but if I don't go now, I'll never get home in time to change and get back here before you burn something." He smiled as she smacked his arm and shook her head at him. He kissed her again quickly before making his way to the door, "I'll be right back."

--

They'd all enjoyed a nice night of eating, laughing, and drinking when they began to realize they should call it a night. Violet had been drinking way too much, and Pete made sure she'd gotten in the car with Cooper. She'd been insisting she was fine but had fallen on the way out to her car, twice. Dell had left quietly after Naomi had mentioned she and Maya would be spending the night with Sam. The four of them left cleaned mostly in silence, making a bit of small talk. After exchanging hugs and Merry Christmas's, Pete offered to help Addison carry her things home. Naomi shot Addison a quick protective friend look, but she accepted his offer quickly and they disappeared.

They were barely through her door when things where dropped to the floor and the kissing began again. They were quick breathless kisses at first, but as Pete got the door closed behind them he pressed Addison up against it and kissed her harder this time. She parted her lips and let his tongue slip inside and dance with hers. It was a good thing he had an arm around her waist because it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to continue standing. She moaned a little as they broke apart to catch their breath.

"We should talk about this," Pete said kissing her again, and she moaned a little more, pulling him deeper into the kiss. He followed along for a minute, but pulled away when she didn't say anything. "We need to talk about this."

"I know," she said and laughed a little realizing it should have been she being the one so insistent on having the talk, she never would have thought it would be Pete, he'd changed. She sighed heavily and hated to have to stop the kissing, because damn, it was excellent kissing, but Pete was right. If they were going to do this right, they needed to talk. She kissed him again quickly and then turned and he followed her into the kitchen. "What do you want?"

"We're just going to start right out with that one, huh?" he said laughing at her for being so blunt.

"Well, I think you know what I want. And you don't have to want everything that I do, but I need to know there's a chance that you could, someday, because if we do this it won't just be something casual, Pete. It will be _something_. It will be a relationship right away because we've been through too much for it to be anything less."

"I know I told you some things that scared you; that I didn't want to get married again, and I stood you up. _I_ was scared. Before I met you I had convinced myself I'd never meet anyone who was worth it. I'd decided I didn't want to fall in love again, only to have it turn out the way my marriage had. And I dated women, to fill time, and I liked some of them, but I always broke their hearts before they had a chance to break mine, and I didn't care because I knew it wasn't worth the trouble. I'd convinced myself that maybe I was just supposed to be alone, that love wasn't for me. But then one day there was a red head in an elevator and everything changed. You make me want to change everything. And I know I'm rambling, and that this isn't making sense, but what I'm really trying to say, is that being without you is not an option. I want everything, every day to be like today."

She smiled wide at the idea of more days of the two of them shopping and cooking together, well, watching him cook for her, mostly. "They might not always be like today, you know, there is a chance we might fight every once in a while."

"We do have a tendency to drive each other a little crazy." He admitted, but he was still smiling and so was she.

"How come you're so sure this can work?" she asked looking him in the eye.

"We already know all the crappy stuff we don't want to do to each other. We've learned from our past of unhappy relationships what's going to make it work and what isn't. You have to talk to me. If you're mad and angry, or unhappy, you have to tell me so that I know what to do to make it better."

"We." She stated, as if trying to correct him, "_We_ have to tell each other everything. You have to tell me when you're mad or unhappy, too. We have to be in this together, because if someone wants it more than the other, if one of us forgets that there's a reason we're doing this, it's never going to work."

"We've told each other everything. I'll always tell you everything. Even if it means telling you that you're crazy sometimes." He laughed and he smiled to her, "We're in this together."

She started to feel a little guilty just then. She suddenly needed to tell him about what really happened with Derek and Mark; the baby. He should have the right to hear the truth from her, even if she was scared to death to tell him. For once she didn't want someone to see her as the adulterous bitch that cheated on her husband. She realized she could care less about the people who already thought that way. It was just him, the only person that was important to her now. What if after she told him he decided he couldn't trust her, that she'd just be another disappointment to him. She took a deep breath, she'd been the one who said it, that they needed to say everything, and she had to tell him, he was worth it.

She cleared her throat, "There's something that I should tell you," she started, hoping to God that when she was finished he wasn't going to want to take back everything he'd just said.

* * *

Thanks again to everyone reading and reviewing. reviews are so much love:) The next two Chapters are written, so I'll try to get them up as soon as possible! Let me know what you think!

* * *


	7. I'm Going To Fight For You

Pete stared at her for a moment, at first he thought she'd just been making a joke, but as he looked into her eyes he could tell something was wrong. There were a million little scenarios that had begun running through his head. She was playing nervously with her hands now, and she wasn't looking at him anymore. He had to say something; he needed to hear what had got her looking so worried. He wasn't sure if he'd be ready to hear what she had to say, but he knew that this was it for him. Without Addison, there wouldn't ever be another woman for him, he was sure of that; she was it. So he took a deep breath and asked, "What is it?"

She didn't answer. She was still staring off to nothing, avoiding his eyes. He stepped over next to her and put his hands on her waist, turning her back to face him. She met his eyes quickly but looked down again, now staring at their feet. "Addison," he said lifting her by the hips and sitting her down on the counter behind them. They were eye level now and she looked into his face for a moment before leaning in and kissing him quickly before she began to speak.

"Part of me wants to never tell you these things I'm about to because... When I tell you about what really happened to my marriage, to my life, I'm going to sound like someone you don't know. The person I became in New York, what my life and love did to me, it changed me into someone I didn't recognize. I was someone who I never imagined I'd become and certainly someone I never want to be again, someone I left behind when I came here. The selfish part of me only wants you know _this_ me… I need to tell you, but I'm scared." She explained more calmly than she'd been expecting, but he was still holding her by the hips and she knew he was ready to listen.

Before she could begin, however, Pete spoke softly, "When in comes to our hearts, when they get broken and we feel completely disappointed by love, sometimes we say and do things we regret. Sometimes without warning we become someone we don't – I became someone closed off and angry because it was the only way I thought I could heal." She'd looked down at her hands in her lap again, but he reached his hand up to her chin and lifted her face so that he could see her eyes again. "Nothing you're going to say will change the way I feel about you. Don't be scared, just talk."

There was nothing left to do now, but tell him. As scared as she felt before, as unsure as she was feeing, somehow Pete had given her a little bit of hope, and everything was beginning to feel real. That this was her life, her guy, and if she could just get everything out then there wouldn't be anything left hanging between them, and maybe, just maybe, she'd get to start living the life she really wanted. She took one last deep breath and began her story.

"I met them in med school, Derek and Mark. Derek was the cute and funny guy and Mark was the handsome and cocky ladies man. They were like the prefect little team, each made up for what the other lacked. They both tried their own ways of getting me, but there was just something about Derek. He was sweet, a perfect gentleman; and before I knew it he was asking me to marry him. I was convinced I was going to have the perfect little life, and I did, for a while. But life— it got in the way, and before I knew it, I was all alone, and he was completely indifferent toward me. I couldn't believe how quickly the perfect life I'd always wanted had slipped away. I was lonely. Mark would hang out with me, every time I called him and said I needed a friend he'd be right there. He started taking me to dinner, movies, I felt like I had somewhat of a social life again. But it wasn't enough. I had a husband I wanted to be doing those things with. So I tried harder, but he still didn't want me, still didn't see me. Maybe that's why I did it," She paused trying to compose herself, feeling like if she didn't take a breath before the next part, she may never get through it. Pete still hadn't moved, never stopped looking her in the eye.

"I felt like I needed to do something drastic. I wanted to get a reaction out of Derek, even if it was him screaming at me that it was over, at least he'd finally admit it and then it could be done. I know none of those reasons make it right, but I did it anyway. I slept with Mark."

"You cheated on your husband with his best friend?" He said sounding surprisingly ok with it; she thought she maybe even heard him laugh a little. She raised an eyebrow at him and he knew it wasn't the reaction she'd been expecting. "I can't believe he never saw it coming. He _so_ had it coming."

"It's sweet that you're trying to make me like less of an adulterous whore," she breathed smiling at him for the first time since before she'd began, "but I cheated on my husband, even if he did 'have it coming', It's still something I never should have done."

"So what happened after he found you and Mark?" Pete quipped.

"It's sad that my pathetic life is so predictable." She stated running a hand through her hair. She was feeling more relived as her story went on. The fact that Pete wasn't half way out the door at this point, but standing there making jokes with her was also a very good sign, she thought, so she answered his question. "After finding us, actually, you know, in bed, in the act, he just turned around, and walked away."

"He didn't say anything? He didn't _do_ anything? I would have punched that bastard Mark in the face." He said hopping up onto the counter next to her. She laughed and shook her head at him. She felt completely relaxed now, like it was just any other time they'd shared stories with each other.

"Mark made a quick exit, and I tried to get Derek to listen. But he was too busy ignoring me and throwing my clothes onto the street to even try to have a conversation with me. And then he'd actually started to yell, a little. He told me to get out of his house, he said that he couldn't look at me. I told him I wouldn't give up that easy, so he said if I wasn't going to leave, then he would. And he did. I watched him walk out the door, and like and idiot, I just stood there and I waited for him to come back—but he"

"But he didn't." Pete interrupted.

"No, he didn't." She said quietly and she felt herself staring at the floor again, but Pete reached his arm around her waist and pulled her into him, and they sat there in silence for a moment.

"So, I don't get it. How'd you end up in Seattle?"

"I told you it was a long, complicated story. We're not even half way through it." She laughed. "I did end up in Seattle, but I stayed in New York for a little while first, with Mark."

"Well that was a very bad idea." Pete said matter-of-factly.

"Are you telling the story, or am I?" She shot back. He smiled at her and she knew that was her cue to continue. "It was fun, I had fun. But it wasn't what I wanted, and Mark Slone definitely wasn't the relationship kind of guy. I knew he was sleeping with other women when we were together and at first it was fine with me, because I'd convinced myself it was just fun; and it was. When we were together he paid attention to me, which was exactly what I'd been missing and everything I needed. But I was kidding myself. He didn't really want_ me_."

She paused for a moment realizing that what was coming next was going to completely ruin the carelessness in which she'd been telling the story with up till then. But she was almost done, the story was almost over. She'd just talk fast and get it all out hoping he wouldn't interrupt. But he hugged his arm tighter around her and she kept going.

"And then the worst thing that could have ever happened, actually happened. I was pregnant. It was a nightmare. I was supposed to have the family with the perfect guy, not Mark. I wanted a baby with my husband, a family. But my life with Mark was nothing close to the life I'd imagined. But I decided to tell him anyway, and he tried to convince me we could have the life. But Mark would have made an awful father, and I'm pretty sure that the person I was back then would have been a _terrible_ mother." She thought she was going to be able to hold it all in, but no crying this far into the story had been impressive, and she couldn't stay strong any longer. The tears had started to fall but she decided she'd better try to continue talking or she'd never make it through.

"Before I even knew what I was doing, it was done." She said quietly as the tears poured down her cheeks. "I hate myself a little more everyday for doing it, but I had to." She turned to him and leaned her head in on his shoulder. He reached the arm that was around her waist up to her head to hold her there as she continued to cry. He wrapped his other arm around her and held her close. "I had to."

Pete allowed the right amount of silence to pass before he spoke, had when he did it was soft and Addison looked up at him from his shoulder. "I get it now, the irony of it all. That day you were rambling about your two eggs… I figured you were just some crazy woman having a midlife crisis; that you were just over reacting. Now I'm feeling like the biggest jerk in the world for ever thinking that…"

"You didn't know." She offered, "I had certain ideas about you and said crappy things to you before I really knew you."

"I don't know what to say." He told her honestly.

"Well that's a first." She said back and sat up straight again, wiping what was left of her tears away from her face. "It's okay if you want to tell me what an awful person you think I am, I know it's true, I've heard it before. He called me Satan."

"I do not think you're an awful person. They were your decisions to make, and you did what was right for you. Maybe it isn't what everyone else in your position would have done, but it shouldn't matter. It's your life. I think you're the bravest woman I've ever known. I'm positive that no other woman could hold it together like you do after all you've been through."

"And that's still not the end of the story." She joked, but he realized she was right.

"So why did you go to Seattle?" he asked as if it were his duty to get the story started again.

"I went there to see Derek. We were sill married, and I needed it to be over if it was really over. I took him divorce papers and told him I didn't want someone who didn't want me and that if he signed, I would. But he didn't, sign them, because Derek is the kind of guy who… he said he'd stay with me. I wanted him to come back to New York but he wanted to stay in Seattle, so we did. I thought it would be different, that he'd really want to work on us, and try. But it just went back to exactly how it had been in New York. He was there but he wasn't _there_. He'd fallen in love with someone else. And one day I found her panties in the pocket of his jacket, and that was it. I was done. Although I shouldn't say I was surprised. That's what I get for cheating first."

"I don't care what you did, that was a jackass way to behave," Pete said sounding protective.

"It doesn't really matter anymore," she admitted.

"I said it before, when I didn't really know anything about him, and I'm going to say it again because, now I do. He doesn't deserve you. If he couldn't see how amazing and smart and unbelievably gorgeous and funny you are; if he couldn't see that life with you would be better than any life he could have ever imagined… He's an idiot. You're perfect and if I were him there would be no way I'd ever let you go."

She shook her head at him and she wished he'd never compare himself to Derek again. Pete was already was caring more and listening more, and comforting her more than Derek ever had.

"I'm sorry I kind of ruined the mood tonight with my rambling, but I am really glad that I finally told you." She said with a yawn. She didn't cry often but when she did, it took everything out of her and she was beginning to fade quickly.

Pete noticed how tired she looked and jumped of the counter and stood in front of her, "Come on," he said holding out his arms to her, "Let me take you upstairs?"

"And have your way with me?" she laughed and yawned again putting her arms around his neck and he scooped her up.

"I've got a pretty good idea of something we can do."

"Oh yeah, what's that?" she asked tiredly as he climbed the stairs with her in his arms.

"Sleep," he said entering the bedroom and laying her down on the bed. She was too tried to protest the offer, so she kicked off her shoes and curled onto her side. He'd taken off his shoes and his belt when he began to speak again. "There are two conditions, though; One: I get to take my jeans off. Boxers will stay on, however." He stated climbing into bed with her and she felt the skin from their bare legs rub against each other. She wasn't facing him so she reached around for his hand and pulled him by the arm so his body curved up around hers.

"What is the second condition?" She asked closing her eyes.

He smiled and kissed the back of her neck, "Lots and lots of touching."

"Pete?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"I don't want us to fight all the time or end up hating each other. You have quickly become one of the most important people in my life and I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you." She breathed almost frantically.

"I know I can't promise that it's always gong to be easy, you and I both know love is never easy. But I can promise you that I'll never stop trying to make you happy. I'll never stop trying to make it work." Pete softy responded.

"You're going to fight for me?" She asked.

"I'm going to fight for you."

* * *

I've got one more chapter written kids, and I'm not sure if I should keep going after that so please let me know what you think!! Thanks for taking the time to review everyone! I love to know what you think!!

* * *


	8. He Makes Excellent French Toast

* * *

Thanks for all the kind reviews everyone. This fic is as much for you as it is for me to help with the serious lack of addiepete goodness durring this god awful strike. :D So I'd been thinking this may be the last chapter, but a friend of mine who almost loves Addie and Pete as much as me, helped me come up with a couple of Ideas that I think will keep this fic interesting for a few more chapters at least, so if you guys are still interested make sure to review and let me know what you think!!

* * *

When Addison's eyes slowly opened the next morning, it took her a moment to realize where she was and who she was with. She remembered that she'd been drinking a little the night before, not too much, but just enough to leave her head feeling slightly cloudy this morning. Her face was buried into Pete's neck and her right arm was stretched across his chest. Her hand was palm down on his shoulder which Pete had covered with his own. His other arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, keeping her close to him. She smiled into his shirt and as she began to stir she could feel him waking next to her.

"Good morning, beautiful." He spoke into her hair as she kept her head still in its perfect little spot in the crook of his neck.

"Good morning." She smiled.

"How'd you sleep?"

"I slept very well," she said yawning and pulling her hand out from under his to wipe the sleep from her eyes. "How'd you sleep?"

Although he remembered waking a few times in the night again, this time it wasn't from being beaten awake by the woman next to him. When they'd moved around in the night, they seemed to have done it together. When he'd rolled away from her she seemed to follow him and he wondered if it was just her following the warmth of his body or if maybe he'd been pulling her with him without noticing he'd been doing it. Whatever the reason, he couldn't help but notice how natural it felt, like they'd been doing it every night for forever.

"I slept very well, too," he said reaching up and brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear so he could see her face.

"Pete?"

"What?" he questioned, still looking at her.

"I didn't dream everything that happened last night, did I?" she asked curiously.

"What do you mean?'

"Well, I do recall telling you some pretty terrible things I've done, and instead of leaving or judging or being angry, you stayed. And you didn't judge me, and you were the opposite of angry, you were perfect. You should have told me the truth, even if you were trying not to hurt my feelings." She told him.

"I did tell you the truth. I meant everything I said." He said confidently.

"You're sure? Because if you have more feelings about it, if you have something else to say, you can say it." she began to ramble nervously.

"Addison?" he said stopping her.

"What?" she responded unsure of what he was about to say.

"Merry Christmas."

"Oh my—it is Christmas isn't it." The past few days she'd spent with Pete were beginning to run together, not that it was a bad thing. It was the opposite of bad. She took a deep breath and tried to relax. As anxious as she was feeling she needed to remember that last night was over, and although she was still unsure if everything Pete said last night was really what he was actually feeling, it was done. She told him, and now they could move forward. She needed to remember that. It felt so unbelievably right, being held by this incredible man next to her. She didn't want to move, ever. "Merry Christmas," she said back to him.

"So, what are your big holiday plans today?" he asked her, running his fingers through the silky strands of her perfect red hair.

"Naomi practically demanded I go with her to Sam's parents for dinner." She laughed feeling increasingly like a burden to here friends here sometimes. "What about you?"

"I have to go to my brothers for dinner."

"You have a brother?" Addison questioned. Although they'd spent a lot of time talking over lunches, it was mostly about work or life in Los Angeles, or about stuff in their lives currently. Besides the day Pete spoke to her about his wife and Addison's stories about Derek and Mark last night, they'd never really talked about anything too personal.

"I have two, actually. One older and one younger; Michael and Brian. Mike lives in New York, but my little brother Brian lives in San Diego with his wife Sarah. I promised them I'd drive down there and spend the evening. His wife drives me absolutely insane, but they have the most amazing twin girls that I miss not getting to see all the time." He looked at her after he'd finished, wondering if that was too much information to have been sharing all at once and so soon, but she was smiling, so he did too.

"How old are they?"

"Six. They are completely hilarious. They act like they're completely grown up already. I can't even imagine what they'll be like in ten years."

"They sound wonderful, I'm sure you'll have a great time." She said half disappointed knowing that they were going to have to get out of bed eventually. She was enjoying the way she felt knowing his arms were keeping her safe and breathing in how good he smelled way too much to think about moving anytime soon.

"I don't have to leave until three or four, though." He said quickly, as if he'd known exactly what she'd been thinking, "So you and I could—"

"Stay like this a while longer?" she interrupted.

"Good idea." He smiled knowing she'd wanted to stay like this forever, too. "If you want, I can make you breakfast later."

"I _have_ to be dreaming." She joked as she moved in as close to him as she could and wrapped her arm back up around his shoulder.

--

An hour later they were in the kitchen, Addison sitting on the counter, watching of course, and Pete pulling various items needed for French toast from the fridge. He'd cracked a few eggs into a bowl and pulled out a pan and set it on top of the stove.

"I should just warn you right now, I make excellent French toast." He said flashing her his famously cocky grin.

"I don't doubt it." she smirked back.

She loved that Pete could cook. She also loved the way he looked standing in her kitchen in his t-shirt and boxers, and they way they both felt so comfortable with it, like it was just another morning. But seriously, Addison was a girl who given the chance, could _eat_. Pete was going to be so nice to have around, she thought, as her stomach continued to growl. Something was still leaving her feeling a little uneasy, though. As much as she'd wanted to convince herself everything said last night was Pete being perfect and charming, she still wasn't sure if he'd meant it. She scrunched up her face a little and he looked over at her.

"Hey," he said moving toward her. He could tell something was still bothering her, and he had a pretty good idea about what it was. "I really did mean everything I said last night. Not just the things about you and the stuff in the past, but about us. You said, you said you can't lose me, and I can't lose you either. I know it won't seem easy or perfect all of the time. But I didn't just say those things because I thought they were what you wanted to hear. I meant them, okay?" he said looking her right in the eyes, he moved over to her and kissed her cheek.

"Okay," she smiled. That was it; she didn't need anymore convincing that everything happening to them was real. This man standing in her kitchen making her breakfast was in her life, really in it. They were going to make it work. She was sure she'd never felt happier then she did at that moment, and she snapped out of her funk. "Hey quack boy don't burn my French toast!" she snapped as she realized he was still staring at her and not at the stove.

"Hey, crazy lady," He said pointing his spatula at her, "Are you cooking, or am I?" he asked with a playful tone in his voice.

"You are." She said batting her eyes at him.

"That's right I am. So just sit back over there and let me work my magic. There is no way that I could possibly burn your breakfast."

"I knew it!" she sounded triumphant.

"Knew what?" Pete questioned.

"That you were magic."

He just rolled is eyes and shook is head at her and turned to focus on the toast. It wasn't too soon for him to be in love with this woman, was it?

--

They spent the rest of the morning together. They finished breakfast, which Pete managed to prepare perfectly much to the chagrin of Addison who'd been secretly hoping he'd burn her French toast so she could spend the rest of the day giving him a bad time about it. They cleaned up the kitchen together and found themselves sitting on the couch in silence together for a while before turning on the TV and searching for an old Christmas movie to watch.

"A Christmas Story is a classic," Pete said trying to pull the remote from her hands.

"So is It's a Wonderful Life." She protested.

"But it's so depressing and then they go and try to call it wonderful. I don't get it."

"Fine," she said leaning closer to him and clicking it back to A Christmas Story just in time for the unwrapping of the leg lamp. She laughed, "This is the best part."

"Yeah it is." He said wrapping his arm around her.

--

When the movie was finished it was almost time for Pete to get going, and he could see in her eyes that she didn't want him to leave. But she knew she'd have to say goodbye eventually and they stood up from the couch and she walked him to the door.

"Hey, let me take you out tomorrow night?" he turned back to Addison and she looked up at him.

"Like on a real date?"

"Yeah," he laughed, "A real date. I'll even get dressed up for you, and act like a perfect gentleman."

"And you're actually going to show up this time?"

"I'll be here at eight. I promise." He said smiling at her and turning toward the door again.

"Merry Christmas, Pete," Addison said as he opened the door.

He paused and turned back to her again. She was smiling and even though she was still wearing the same thing she'd been wearing the night before and still had a little of yesterdays makeup on her face, she was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, "Merry Christmas, Addie."


	9. I Can't Tell You That Yet

The following morning at Oceanside began like most mornings at the practice usually did; All of the doctors were sitting around the conference table making small talk, drinking their coffee –tea in Pete's case- and discussing what patients they planed on treating for the day. The only difference on this particular day, however, was the fact that Addison and Pete couldn't help but smile every time they made eye contact or heard one another speak. At one point, Pete began telling the other doctors about a patient who's baby he and Addison would be delivering that afternoon at three o'clock and she had to turn completely away from him in fear the entire room would see her blushing at him.

When the meeting had ended and the doctors had scattered to their respective offices, Addison found herself cornered by Naomi just outside her office door.

"We need to talk." Naomi demanded, pushed passed Addison, and opened the door letting herself in.

"By all means, come right in," Addison said dryly as she waved her hands as if she'd been showing Naomi inside, and then followed into the office after her.

"You think you guys are so clever, so secretive. You think no one around here will find out? I'm supposed to be your best friend and I have to hear about it from Sam?" Naomi breathed, speaking very quickly but sounding somewhat upset.

"I don't know what you're talking about Nae. I'm not trying to keep anything from you…" But as soon as she'd said those words she knew that wasn't true. But it wasn't like she was trying to keep her and Pete from Naomi on purpose. She just hadn't gotten around to telling her yet. She thought it best not to tell Naomi those _exact_ words and settled on playing stupid for a while longer, "What did you hear from Sam?"

"He said he saw Pete leaving your house yesterday afternoon."

"And…" Addison questioned, still avoiding the truth.

"And he was wearing the same clothes he was the night before! I know you two left the party together. Addie, I can't believe you slept with him! I thought we decided you were going to give it another shot with Kevin. I though we decided you and Pete were only hot for each other when… You sleeping with Pete is a very bad idea. You're going to get all invested and he'll break your heart—"

"Okay, wait, Nae. Stop, just stop. First of all, I did not have sex with Pete— yet. Second, _we_ never decided anything Nae. I know you're trying to be my friend here and that you want what's best for me, but _I _get to decide who I want—"

"So what, it's over with you and Kevin?" Naomi interrupted.

"Yes."

"And Pete's been spending the night, but not trying to have sex with you?" she said sounding awfully confused.

"Yes." Addison replied again with a grin on her face.

"And you didn't tell me any of this until now because…"

"Because I knew this was exactly how you'd react when I told you about it." Addison said firmly.

"Hey, that's not fair. You said before that Pete was your choice and I didn't say anything. And then he stood you up and you were angry. Don't you think I'm just worried about you getting hurt again if you keep letting Pete do this to you? Pete's not the kind of guy who—

But it was Addison's turn to interrupt this time. "Don't. Don't say what kind of guy Pete is or isn't because you don't know him like I know him. We have been spending a lot of time together lately and we've really gotten to know each other. It's different, He's different. And we want to make us work, but it's going to be a hell of a lot more difficult for us to do that if we have to keep worrying about the fact that our friends don't think that we're the kind of people who can make it work. Nae, I want this and I can't listen to you tell me that I'm wrong about him, please."

"Okay." Naomi agreed half-heartedly but then spoke again when she saw how serious Addison was looking at her, "You're really serious about this aren't you? You really care about him."

"I really do."

"Okay, then, I want to know everything, when you're ready, tell me everything. I'm here for you." Naomi said hugging her friend and walking towards the door.

"Thanks Nae," Addison replied stopping her at the door, "We have a date tonight—I'll call you after?"

Naomi nodded and turned to leave again but turned once again to add quickly, "Addie, he better not screw this up."

"He won't." Addison said confidently and smiled.

--

Pete had finished with his first few patients around noon and made his way down the hall to the break room to grab a quick lunch. He was mostly hoping for an excuse to run into Addison, but instead he entered the room to find Cooper and Sam, who almost immediately stopped talking as soon as they spotted Pete.

"What?" Pete asked staring at them. "I know you're talking about me, so just say it to my face."

It was silent for a moment as the two men opposite Pete looked back and forth from one another as if trying to decide what to say, and who would say it first.

"So. You and Addison, huh?" Cooper asked inquisitively but with a playful tone mixed in there too. Sam glared at him for being so blunt, and wished he wouldn't have let Cooper speak first. "Sam says he saw you leaving her house yesterday morning in the same clothes you wore to the party," He laughed a little and continued, "Sam saw you doing the walk of sha-ame," Cooper sang.

"Hey." Pete interjected, "There was _no_ walk of shame—I, there was no walk of shame." He repeated and the other two men looked as if they didn't believe a word he was saying. "I didn't sleep with her. Okay, I slept with her, but, there was no sex," Pete assured them.

"No sex?" Cooper sounded disappointed, "Why no sex?"

"Because I'm trying not to be that guy, I want to be different with her. I—

"Ohhh, you got it bad, don't you?" Sam said playfully as he was beginning to see the look on Pete's face.

"I just want to try to make this work with Addison, okay? And it would really help if you guys would just cut the crap and have my back on this alright?"

"Look Pete, I know you probably think you can do it, but, I told you man, Addison is a good person…" Sam began but was quickly interrupted.

"I know." He said suddenly becoming very serious and looking Sam right in the eye. Both men could tell he meant it, "It's different this time, okay? We want to make this work."

"So what are you gonna do?"

"I'm taking her out to dinner tonight. I'm picking her up at eight." Pete told them.

"You're gonna show up this time, right?" Coop asked.

"Guys." Pete demanded, he swore sometimes there was no getting through to them. But they stopped kidding around again and nodded at Pete until he looked satisfied. He grabbed an apple off the counter and turned for the door.

"Hey Pete," Cooper called and he turned around to face them again.

"Don't screw this up, man." Sam stated.

"I won't." He said with a smile and made his way back to his office.

--

It was almost three and dell had appeared at Addison's door to inform her that the expectant mother whose baby she and Pete where set to deliver had arrived and was in the waiting room. She'd been waiting all day for an excuse to see Pete and wanted a chance to talk to him about what Naomi knew. She wasn't exactly sure if they were supposed to be keeping their—whatever it was that they were doing—a secret.

"Hey." She said as she came out from the birthing suite. She'd gotten their patient all settled and was smiling again at the sight of him.

"Hey." He smiled back. "I've been wanting to talk to you."

"Yeah, me too."

"The guys—they know." He stated, but he looked hesitant to speak again, almost unsure of how she'd react.

"So does Naomi," she said feeling relieved.

"I wasn't sure if it was something we should be discussing with everyone, but Sam knew and I wasn't going to lie. We probably would have been kidding ourselves to try and hide it. I mean, there are never any secrets here."

"There isn't anything to hide." Addison replied with a smile, "As long as everyone agrees that it's _our_ business, and that they only get to comment when asked, then everything should be fine."

Pete chuckled a little, "I made the guys agree to something along those lines."

For a moment she just looked at him trying to think of what to say. "So… tonight?" she said sounding tense.

"Addison. I'm going to be there." Pete assured her with a smile. "Let's deliver this baby."

--

The rest of the afternoon went by excruciatingly slow for both of them. After successfully delivering a very healthy baby boy, Pete had to return quickly to his other scheduled patients. Addison finished up with her last two routine check ups and decided instead of staying at Oceanside for the rest of the day and having to endure being given any more dating advice from Cooper; she'd just go home and get an early start on preparing for her evening.

As she'd entered her bedroom she began to think about way too many things. What was she going to wear? Hair up or down? What were they going to talk about? She became more and more anxious than she thought normal for a woman her age to feel about a first date. It wasn't like she'd never done this before. She'd already been married for hell sake. But she could help but feel nervous and excited and began think about the possibilities, about her life now, with this man. Before she knew it her head was too full and she was thinking too far ahead. She needed to focus on getting through tonight. She hopped in the shower and tried to clear her mind of all thoughts, accept for one, and he'd be there with in the hour.

She heard a knock on the door promptly at eight and her heart almost missed a beat. She looked at herself in the mirror one final time to make sure everything looked perfect. She'd chosen a blue dress that hugged her body perfectly. It wasn't too low cut, or extremely fancy, but it was comfortable. She decided to wear her hair down and straight and she added a simple gold necklace and the earrings Pete had given her for her birthday. She opened the door slowly and she glanced up at Pete who looked almost as anxious as she felt.

"You look beautiful." He said leaning in and kissing her cheek.

She stared at him for a minute, taking him all in. He was dressed the same as always, in jeans, but had a nice blue button down shirt tucked in. But there was something about the way he was smiling at her, like he didn't care about anything else in the world accept looking at her. He seemed confident and happy and it was extremely sexy, she decided.

"You don't look too bad yourself." She smiled back. "Let me just grab my purse and my jacket and we can go."

He waited by the door until she returned, waited for her to step out and then closed the door behind her. She followed him down the stairs to his car and was almost surprised when he followed her to her side and opened the door for her.

"I told you I'd be a gentleman tonight," he reminded her.

She wasn't about to complain, so she just smiled at him and waited for him to walk around and get in his side of the car. "So where are you taking me?" she asked flirtatiously.

"You'll know when we get there." He replied with a cocky grin and she shook her head at him.

When they arrived at the restaurant Addison didn't recognize it at first, probably because it was dark, and the first time they had been there it was lunch time. When they walked inside, though, she'd finally realized exactly where they were.

"Hey, this is where you brought me when we had our very first lunch together," she said turning to him. She knew Pete was thoughtful, with her birthday and all, but it just seemed perfect that he bring her here.

"I know it's not fancy, but it seemed appropriate." He sounded nervous, like he was thinking maybe she was expecting somewhere different.

"It's very thoughtful. I love it, it's perfect."

"Good." He smiled.

They ordered quickly and made casual conversation about the rest of their work days and discussed what they thought their friends at Oceanside would be saying if they could see them now. It wasn't anything terribly important or impressive, but they were both feeling unbelievably happy at how easy and comfortable it was. They were just enjoying each others company and the lights and the atmosphere and there was a moment when they both had thought that it couldn't possibly get any better than this.

After dinner they returned to the car and drove in the direction of her house for a while before Pete stopped, pulled off along the coast and got out of the car.

"You do realize I live quite a bit farther away, don't you?" She asked following him out of the car.

"Let's walk the rest of the way."

"You're just going to leave your car here?" Addison questioned.

"I'll come back for it later. Come on," he said as he walked around to meet her at the front of the car. "It's supposed to be romantic." He teased with a smile.

"Of course," she agreed quickly with a smile of her own, "Sorry, let's go."

As they walked next to each other in the sand Pete remembered back to the first walk on the beach they'd shared. The one where he'd almost held her hand and when he'd asked her not to fall in love with Kevin. It was hard to believe that it had only been almost a month since then and so much had changed. He'd realized at that moment what he should have been doing and reached over and took Addison's hand in his. She smiled at him and held on as they continued to walk silently for a few more minutes, just enjoying the sound of the ocean and the warmth of each other next to them.

"What's your favorite baseball team?" She asked finally breaking the silence, but her hand stayed in his.

"I can't tell you that yet." He replied and she stared at him curiously.

"Well I should know who we're supposed to like since it's apparently no longer the Yankees." She explained.

"We'll watch some games and I'll teach you the rules and the positions and everything. And then if you're lucky maybe I'll even take you to see the real thing. But you shouldn't decide to like a team because it's my favorite. Baseball is about more than just picking the team with the cutest t-shirts, Addie." He joked. "Plus it wouldn't be any fun if we liked the same team. If we did then I wouldn't get to see the look on your face when _my_ team beats _yours_."

"Oh, it's on. I'm going to pick the very best team then, you just wait." She laughed. "Can we watch a game soon? I want to pick my team now."

"It's the middle of the winter." He stated, but she obviously had no idea what that meant. "It's the off season. They won't play again until the spring."

"Fine, spring it is then. But until then, I'm picking the team with the cutest colors to call my favorite in the meantime."

"Deal." Pete said smiling.

--

When they finally arrived back to Addison's house they were still holding hands and when they reached the door neither one of them wanted to let go.

"I had a really nice time." Addison spoke first.

"So did I." He agreed. It was silent for a moment before he spoke again, "In the spirit of me being a gentleman this evening, I should say goodnight."

Almost immediately as he'd spoken, Addison had pulled her hand from his and grabbed his face with both her hands and pulled him into a kiss. It was passionate and quick and at first he almost forgot to respond. He slowly put a hand on her lower back and then had to place is palm quickly on the brick wall behind them to stop from falling over when she slid her tongue into his mouth. After a moment he was able to take control again and wrapped both his arms tightly around her waist. He continued to let their tongues gently flit against each other and neither of them wanted to break apart from one another for a second, not even to breathe.

When it finally ended they pulled apart just enough to leave a little space between their lips but she was still holding his face and he was still holding her around her waist.

"We should do this more often," she breathed, smiling into his lips and the kissed him again quickly. She slowly moved her hands from his face and turned to open the door behind her. When it was open and she was about to step inside she turned to him again, "Goodnight, Pete."

"Goodnight, Addison." Pete replied and turned around down the stairs and headed off back down the beach.

--

When she was inside she grabbed her cell phone immediately from her purse and dialed Naomi.

"So how was it," Naomi asked as Addison slinked down onto the couch and relaxed telling Naomi every detail of the date from start to finish…

"…and then he said goodnight, but before he could go, I kissed him and Nae, I've kissed him before, a few times, but, never like this. It was like everything was falling into place. We'd just had the most perfect evening, and I couldn't breathe. Nae, I'm falling in lo—hold on a second, there's another call." She pulled the phone from her ear to see that it was Pete calling, "Nae, thanks for listening, love you but its Pete, I have to go."

"This better not be what it's going to be like from now on, you ditching out on me 'cause you've got a man." Naomi snapped, but it was too late for Addison to respond, she'd already swapped the call over to Pete.

"Miss me?" she said, beginning the conversation.

"Of course, but hey, I just wanted to make sure that you knew what a really great time I had, and how badly I'm wishing at this moment that I hadn't promised to be such a gentleman."

"I kind of wished you hadn't either. But it was very chivalrous of you." She laughed.

"Extremely White Knight of me." He agreed. "So, wanna be my date for New Years?"

"Will you promise not to say goodnight and then leave me wanting more of you?" she teased.

"You'll always want more of me, Montgomery." He shot back.

"Looks like you've got yourself a date."

* * *

Thanks once again for all of the kind reviews. This chapter is no doubt fluffy of course. But it just had to be. There are a few surprises and a little angst to come but no doubt more fluff. Thanks for sticking around and liking the story so much! I love to know what you guys think so make sure to let me know how to improve!

* * *


	10. It Was Better, Like Ten Times Better

Everyone at Oceanside learned rather quickly that when the blinds were drawn and Pete's door was closed that it was in their very best interest to keep their distance. They also learned it was always knock at your own risk because neither Pete nor Addison particularly liked being interrupted, and any time you did knock, it was always followed by a loud groan and a few choice words from the other side.

"You have to stop that," Pete whispered quietly into Addison's ear. She was kissing his jaw, slowly making her way down his neck, "You seriously have to stop that," he repeated again when she completely ignored his request.

"I thought you liked the kissing. We're very good at the kissing," she mumbled, still playing around his neck with her teeth and tongue now.

"We're excellent at the kissing. But, that's not the point," he stated, trying his very best to stay calm.

"And the point. . ." she said quickly before taking his earlobe between her teeth.

"Ok." He said finally pulling her back from him and holding her at arms length. She looked disappointed at him because he'd stopped the kissing, and he had to say that the sexy pout she was flashing at him that very moment was almost enough for him to forget what he was thinking and beg her to return to more of the kissing. But he continued, still firmly holding her arms. "The point is, if you continue what you're doing I'm going to be completely unable to fight the urge to push you up against this door and have my way with you right now," he breathed, flashing his very best cocky grin.

"And that would be so bad, why?" she teased back.

"Well although I'm thinking we would easily fulfill one or two previous fantasies I've had about the two of us, it would completely go against our agreement to take this slow."

She frowned a little remembering that they actually had had that discussion, the morning after their first date. They decided Pete's chivalrous act had really been a good thing. Everything between them had all been spilling out so fast over the days previous to the date, they both decided to take one step back and make sure everything was functioning naturally and not all on fast forward like it was beginning to feel. And although neither of them verbally agreed to hold off on the sex, they both knew each other well enough to realize that with them sex was going to be a very important step and they should wait until it felt—for lack of a better word—perfect.

"It's only been _four _days Pete," she half-whined. "A girl can only hold out for so long," she teased placing her hands back on his chest and stepping closer to him once again.

"Well, keep on holding, baby." He quipped, "I've got to get back to work," he said, quickly kissing her mouth, "Go find another doctor in this practice to bother, would you?"

"Was that you just giving me permission to go and make out with, say, Cooper? Because don't think I won't…" she teased, pushing past him for the door.

"I was actually thinking more someone like Violet." He suggested playfully as she scoffed at him and exited his office and started down the hall, "Or Naomi would be fine, if you prefer, I'm not picky," he called out down the hall after her, but she continued on to her office pretending not to hear him, but smiling to herself the whole way. He couldn't help but smile to himself, too; he extremely enjoyed the little moments like that; so did she.

--

"So?" Naomi questioned that afternoon at lunch, "Still nothing to report on the sex front, huh?"

"No." Addison pouted, sitting down in her chair and opening her yogurt. "It's been a loooong time, Nae." She said, as if emphasizing the word long was going to make it any more obvious that it had been quite a while since she'd gotten any. "It's not like I don't agree with deciding to take it slow. I mean the whole Addison and Pete thing just kind of happened really quickly and the last thing I want to do is rush into anything that's going to freak one or both of us out, but. . . I really, really want to have sex with Pete."

"Are you sure that it's not just you, you know, needing sex." Naomi stated plainly.

"Nae, if it were just about the sex, don't you think I would have just done it with Kevin at the first chance I had? I've _been_ waiting for it to feel right, and it finally does, it's just I don't want Pete to freak out if we move too fast."

"Well hey, there's always the—

But Addison quickly interrupted, "You better stop right there because if I hear you say shower-head I'm going to throw my yogurt at you."

"He's not going to say no. Just tell him you're ready." Naomi suggested.

But Addison had gone back to focusing on her yogurt and was definitely ready for this conversation to be finished. She couldn't think about the sex anymore, or she knew she'd march right down to her sexy hippie boy's office and have her way with him.

--

"So I'm beginning to think that maybe it's a bad idea to keep putting this whole sex thing off," Pete admitted to Cooper, letting himself into the office and beginning to pace back and forth in front of Cooper whom was sitting at his desk. "It's like now we're thinking about it _too_ much so when we finally get around to it, something wont feel right or there will be another excuse to wait and then it wont ever happen like I want it to."

"Have you seen the two of you?" Cooper exclaimed. "You two are like the most beautiful couple in Los Angeles," he stated and Pete shot him a look, "Ok, so in this Practice, anyway," he settled for instead. "I know you're trying to take it slow, and I respect that, but sex was going to happen between the two of you anyway, whether you two were trying to 'make it work', or not. So, just stop thinking about it so much and just let it happen, and when it does it will be great. At least I hope it's great—or else there really isn't any fairness left in the world."

"Thanks, Coop." Pete said turning for the door.

"What about New Years, Pete?" Cooper questioned, stopping Pete just outside the door.

"What about it?"

"I'd say the perfect time to give her the ole Pete special." Cooper snickered.

"Ok—you've helped enough today, thank you." Pete said shaking his head returning to the office of his own.

--

Apparently New Years at Oceanside was a pretty big deal. They threw a huge party leaving Oceanside open for all employees to come and eat and drink and dance the night away until it was time to ring in the New Year.

The party was just like any other night hanging out with the Oceanside crew Addison decided when she and Pete had arrived. Naomi and Sam were still dancing around the idea of being together or not, which not only caused tension between the two of them, but with Dell as well, which was continuing everyday to be more and more of an extremely awkward love triangle. Violet and Cooper's friendship was rocky as ever, now thanks to the not so welcomed presence of one Charlotte King at an Oceanside gathering. Addison and Pete were trying not to follow along the dysfunctional path and just put aside their sex issues until after the party.

"Happy freakin' New Year," Violet said sarcastically. She was standing with Pete and Addison, but couldn't take her eyes away from Cooper and Charlotte. "He's not even the same person anymore. That she-devil has gotten to him. Ugh, I think I'm just gonna go," she said, set her drink down on the table and turned to leave. Addison looked quickly at Pete, like they should do something, and then followed Vi to the elevator.

"Hey, Violet, I know we're not, _friends_, but, don't be alone tonight, let us come with you," Addison said motioning to her and Pete who was still a few paces behind her, staring over that the two of them.

"Addison, I appreciate it, I really do. But, look at your guy over there, he's totally planning on getting in your pants tonight, and as crappy a night as I'm having, it would only make it worse if I screw with Pete's chances of getting laid, so you should stay with him, really. Thank you, but I'm fine."

Addison smiled as she looked back at Pete who had a guilty look on his face. "Ok, but Violet? Call us if you need anything, okay?"

Violet smiled and nodded and pushed the button for the elevator. Addison headed back over to Pete. "She says you're planning on getting in my pants tonight." She stated, wrapping her arm around him.

All he could do was give her another guilty grin and she kissed him quickly and then begged him to take her home.

--

"It's been a while," She said nervously as they climbed the stairs to her bedroom, arms awkwardly looped and running into things as they tried to talk, kiss, and walk at the same time.

"Me too," he breathed and she laughed a little.

"Uh huh," she shrugged him off, "I haven't been with anyone since before I moved here, remember?"

"I'm extremely glad you never slept with Kevin." He said placing small kisses on her neck, "And I haven't had sex since before you moved here, either." He admitted and she looked up at him.

"No sex since before you met me?"

"Nope."

"What if I hadn't moved here?" she joked.

"I was hoping that you would, you know, because—

"Don't say 'because you kissed me'," she interrupted, stopping them just at the door and she placed her hands on his chest.

"Look at you," he said shaking his head playfully, "Still trying to deny that I had anything to do with why you really came here, you can't fool me."

"If I say yes to you, will you hurry up and take my shirt off already?"

He laughed a little at her, but did as he was told. He kissed her slowly, but deeply and shrugged her top over her head. Although they'd built up so much tension about this actually happening, they didn't let too much desire and wanting get the best of them. There would be plenty of time for the crazy, wild sex—later that night, they were both hoping—but this first time they were going to try to keep it slow and meaningful.

They shared plenty more open mouthed kisses as they continued slinking out of clothing as well as taking time to allow hands to wander; teeth and lips to brush against chests. And finally, when they felt skin meet skin, Pete followed her slowly onto the bed. When he pushed into her, they both took a moment to enjoy the feeling of their bodies intertwined. He gave her a moment to adjust her body underneath his and brushed a stray piece of hair from her face. "You okay?" he asked.

"Perfect," she smiled, and he took one of her hands in his.

It didn't take them any time finding a rhythm that felt natural, it was like they'd been doing this—together—forever. His mouth hardly left hers and when it did it was only to place quick kisses on her neck and chest. And as they begin moving more rapidly, swallowing each others breathless moans, there is a moment when they are both sure they don't want what they're feeling to ever end. But when she lets go of his hand to reach up and sink her nails into his shoulders, he can tell she's close. She begins to arch her back, pressing her stomach and breasts harder against his chest. She pulls her mouth away from his and says his name in what Pete can only describe as the sexiest half-whisper, half-moan that he's ever heard. And if that wasn't enough to cause him to follow quickly after, the sensation of her pressed against him, gasping for air, certainly is.

She held tightly to him for a moment after, as they re-learned to breathe together, and when she finally eased up on his shoulders enough for him to roll to the side of her, he breathed, "Oh my god," he took another quick breath, "Wow."

"Yeah," she said with a heavy sigh, chest still heaving, and then she giggled.

"You're laughing at me?" Pete asked, still panting a little, "Because I'm positive that was some of my best work."

"I'm laughing at us. Here we are sounding surprised. Like there was any chance we'd be bad. It's me and you; of course it was going to be good."

"Good?" he said sounding slightly disappointed, "You know how sometimes you build up your expectations so high for something and then when it actually happens it's never as _good_ as you imagine. . . Addison, it was better, like, ten times better."

She laughed at him again and she rolled over on top of him, "It was amazing," she promised, kissing him hard so the look of disappointment he'd had before was gone. "I'm hungry."

It was silent for a second like he was waiting for her to say something and she was waiting for him to offer his cooking skills freely to her.

"So… You know where the kitchen is," he teased and she rolled her eyes at him and sighed into his chest. Bare chest and sweating Pete was definitely one of the sexiest things she'd ever seen, especially knowing he was probably thinking the same thing about her seeing as how she was just as bare and just as sweaty as he was.

"Don't do that," he begged, "Don't silently guilt me into getting out of this bed. I plan on staying this bed and repeating our previous activities for quite some time tonight."

"Please, please." She whined, but all he did was raise an eyebrow at her, like she was going to have to come up with a better reason than that. "What if I promise there'd be some hot kitchen counter sex in it for you?"

He didn't need to reply and she laughed at him as he quickly rolled her off of him, stood up and grabbed his boxers from the floor and hurried downstairs. She grabbed his t-shirt and threw it over her head and followed him to the kitchen.

Addison took her usual place on the counter and Pete grabbed what seemed like the entire contents of the fridge to make her the perfect omelet. They shared the plate together, Addison still on the counter, her legs wrapped around his waist. It was a completely sweet gesture, and she was sure that this moment, or this night couldn't be any better. She was sure she'd felt this happy before, but it was so long ago all she was thinking was that it felt like the first time, and maybe it was the first time she truly felt happy.

When they'd finished, Pete quickly chucked the plate into the sink behind them, and pressed his lips back against hers. She immediately dropped his boxers to the floor and he pulled his shirt over her head.

Pete got his hot counter sex-- which happened to be only the first of many surfaces in Addison's house to have the pleasure of being used by the two of them that night… and the next few nights after that.

* * *

Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. School and work were seriously kicking my butt this week. but it's the weekend and I'm free. I'll try to get the next chapter up tomorrow, before another work/school week from hell. Thanks again for all the kind reviews, they make the unbearable weeks bearable. hope this chapter wasnt too much. I'm sure I could never do the real addie and pete justice, but i attempted. which reminds me; I own nothing. I cry every night wishing for a Pete of my very own.

* * *


	11. It's Why I Moved Here, Remember?

* * *

A/N: Thanks for Reading and Reviewing everyone. Work with me on this chapter here, guys, cause I love the paddie fluff, okay? And I'm seriously missing PrP so badly, I just had to write this. And then, when you get to the end, don't throw things, and just remember that I am an AddiePete shipper. Also when you get to the end press that little blue button and show me some love, or hate, if you hate it. I must know these things. It makes me better. enjoy!

* * *

Somehow, everyday for the next four weeks, Addison and Pete were able to finish a full day's work without pouncing on each other. It was more than impressive, if they could say so themselves. Even the other members of Oceanside had witnessed this and commented (much to the opposition of Addison and Pete, who still were demanding their friends respect an 'only comment on their relationship when asked--thank you very much' agreement) on what an exceptional job they were doing at not mixing their business with pleasure. That said, however, did not mean they didn't take every other available opportunity to partake in hot, sweaty marathon sex that always seemed to end up lasting way longer into the night then actually intended when the aforementioned sex first began. They were sure it must have had something to do with it being new, and something to do with the fact that they'd gone without it for the first six months of knowing each other. It was just so damn good that they couldn't get enough—but to be truthful they both were secretly hoping (just a little) the excitement of it being new and wonderful and all that would wear off eventually, but it hadn't—yet. It's not like they were complaining. They had fantastic sex, all the time. But they were _tired_. They had to try particularly hard most nights to keep their hands off of each other long enough to insure at least five hours of sleep, or else neither would be functional for work the following morning. But they weren't complaining—in fact if you asked anyone who knew them, they'd tell you they'd never seen either of them happier.

"Let's go away this weekend," Pete whispered to Addison as he stepped out of the shower behind her. She just chuckled at him and grabbed a towel off the rack and handed it to him as she quickly slipped into her robe. She wasn't taking him seriously, because to be honest, she heard him say it too frequently to expect him to mean it in any other way. It was a joke of theirs. Anytime Addie and Pete time got interrupted by one, or all, of their friends, they would smile and invite them inside and then Pete would lean in and whisper, "We should have gone away this weekend" just to make her smile, otherwise she might roll her eyes in frustration and scream at her friends to leave her and Pete alone. Although they made time nightly for the sex, it seemed like every weekend or free afternoon they had from work to spend some actual time together, someone always wanted to shop or play poker or was in need of a respective girls (or guys) night, and Addison and Pete were forced away from each other.

"Come on, Addison. On Friday, let's just go somewhere, anywhere."

When she heard him call her Addison, though, she knew he was serious. He never called her Addison anymore unless he was speaking with a serious tone. It was always Addie now, sometimes even Add when he was really trying to make her weak in the knees, which still wasn't that hard to do to begin with. She turned to look at him, and as sure as she'd expected, his face matched his serious tone of voice. "It's Thursday, Pete." She said leaning in and kissing him quickly, "There's no way we could just drop everything and get away tomorrow."

"But that's not you saying you don't want to go, though, right?" he replied with a smile. She can't help but match the smile he's giving her, and with that, he knew she definitely was agreeing. "Let me take care of it. Sam and Naomi owe me."

"Where would we even go?" she said turning from him and walking out into the bedroom.

"I don't care. We can go wherever you want, Santa Barbara. We could drive to San Diego, we could fly to San Francisco if you want to." he rambled, and she could tell he was extremely looking forward to having some alone time with his girl, and she couldn't help but smile like an idiot at him—again.

"Okay, let's go." She agreed, "Just you and me? What ever will we do?" Addison teased, "I love our friends, but I'm really getting tired of weekends without you, you know, for more than just sex."

"I'm definitely looking forward to Pete and Addie alone time." he said walking to her and wrapping his arms around her."Addie and Pete time is very much needed." She agreed with another kiss.

--

"No." Naomi stated plainly to Pete. "You can't drop everything and just leave. I have a practice to run here."

"Please, Naomi. Please. It's always Addie, Pete and someone else. We need to be with each other away from here, just us. Please." He begged, and the look he was giving her made her realize why it was so hard for her best friend to say no to him.

"If I say no, you're just going to go and ask Sam, aren't you?"He looked sheepishly at her; of course he was going to ask Sam, he'd just thought it would be polite to attempt to ask Naomi first. He gave Nae a small nod.

"Fine," she caved, shaking her head at him, but smiled, "Go. Take good care of our girl."

"I will." he agreed. Hurrying out the door, he realized he had a lot to do. Addison wasn't one to appreciate having no plans at all. He thought a destination and at least a place to stay should be something he figured out before he got her in the car.

--

So without another thought about jobs or friends, the next morning, Pete and Addison were on the road. Addison was hating being out of the loop, and had about a hundred questions for Pete about where they were going or what they were going to do, but Pete kept quiet for a while letting her fidget around in anticipation. She was skeptical and was hoping they weren't just driving without a particular destination, but the way Pete was smiling when she looked at him, relaxed and comfortable, made her breath deep and smile too. She was excited for a fun weekend away with just Pete.

After driving south on the PCH for a while, they ended up in Long Beach, and Addison was hoping this wasn't really where they were going to end up. He could see the worried look on her face, "Relax, Addie. We're going to Catalina Island, there's a boat, right over there, that's going to take us out there." he laughed a little at her, "I even booked a hotel room and everything, okay?" She let out another deep breath and was sure she was one hundred percent relaxed this time.

Three hours later they were walking around on the beach hand in hand talking about nothing in particular. In the afternoon Addison convinced Pete to follow her around as she shopped in the small stores, buying anything she thought was cute, but needing nothing she'd actually purchased. Pete did offer his own credit card rather quickly, though, after Addison had tried on a strapless sun dress she'd wanted his opinion on. She took the gesture as a very much yes and was excited that Pete was embracing the shopping. They watched the sun set that night from the balcony of their hotel room, Pete's arm holding her close, and although they both knew it was way too soon to be uttering certain words about how they felt or imagining things like forever, they both knew they were feeling those things anyway. They spent Saturday in bed, enjoying the simplicity of just being together. She was scratching his back as they watched football, Pete attempting to explain to Addison how everything worked. They called for room service and wound up talking all night instead of paying attention to the in room movie they'd ordered. Hours later when she didn't respond to something he'd said, Pete noticed she'd drifted off to sleep, so he pulled her close and fell asleep with her next to him.

When Sunday morning finally rolled around neither of them wanted to leave. This alone time was definitely what they needed and had brought them closer, they were sure. On the drive back Pete reached over and grabbed her had.

"This weekend was perfect." He said smiling at her.

"Pete—the 'nothing is ever perfect' guy, admitting something was perfect?" she teased.

"Ok, so maybe I was wrong when I said _ever_. I should have said…" but he didn't know what he should have said, and offered instead, "I've learned rather quickly to change my opinion on a lot of things, because of you."

"It really was perfect," she agreed.

--

The next few moths went by quickly—Pete's clothes were slowly making their way into her closet and what Addison referred to as 'crazy holistic voodoo crap' was finding it's way to night stands and random shelves throughout the house. There were some nights when one or both would work late and return to their own houses in accordance to the late hour or just for a night of alone time (which really just meant a full night sleep, since in the now four months they'd been together, they'd still yet to encounter a disappointing sexual experience), but more often that not, they absolutely disliked being without each other—even if meant sleeping a little less. They rarely fought or lost their tempers with each other, which sometimes worried them both when it seemed everything was going too perfectly. But sometimes after long days in which Addison lost babies, or mothers, she'd yell about petty things and take her frustrations out on him, and he'd let her, because he knew he was still going to be the one she wanted to hold when the yelling was done. Sometimes, if Pete had had a bad day too, he'd yell back just so she'd have someone to fight with, because he knew, that as much as Addison liked to yell, she enjoyed it even more when she had someone to play off of. They'd usually realize about half way through their arguments that they were meaningless and they would quickly forgive each other. He'd pull her into his arms and they'd agree to shrug it off as just another bad day.

If their friends could say that Pete and Addison's relationship were too good to be true without getting hit by both Addison and Pete, they would. But everyone at Oceanside knew they'd never seen either of them happier—which meant more to them than trying to figure out how they actually did it.

--

Before they knew it, it was May already and the warm California air had finally settled itself around them. Pete was all for the warm weather, of course, because Addison was back to wearing short dresses that showed of her unbelievably sexy legs and halter tops that revealed her exquisite back.

"So today…" Pete said, playfully kissing Addison's neck.

"Is going to be the worst work day ever." She interrupted. "I'm completely booked—over booked in fact. Not to mention, it's a girls/guys night again which means I won't even see you tonight." She pouted and tilted her face in to kiss his mouth.

"No, I mean the date today. _Today._"He emphasized the second today, like there was something that she was missing, but she stared at him completely puzzled.

"What do you mean _today_," she said mimicking his voice, but he gave her a blank stare. "Look, I don't have time to play this cute little game with you," she said standing and kissing his mouth again and then turning to grab her shoes from the side of the couch, "Just tell me so that I know and then I can get going, cause I've _really_ got to get going."

"Ok, for one, you're not even paying attention to me, and also, you really _don't_ remember what today is, do you?" he said disappointed, but she hadn't really noticed because she was busy collecting her things for work.

"It's May fifth, Pete, just another day…"

"No, it's not just another day. It's important and you're acting like it doesn't matter." He said, not yelling, but the tone in his voice had definitely changed, enough to make Addison stop what she was doing to turn to look at him.

"Wait, slow down," she said softly, "I didn't mean to make you upset. I honestly don't know what's so important about today and I certainly didn't mean to make you go all freaky on me just then."

"Well maybe that's the point," Pete said getting louder this time, "I can't believe that you're acting like it doesn't matter. When _I_ remembered, me, the guy who… I never remember anything, I…" he was getting flustered.

"Pete, calm down," she said walking toward him and putting a hand on his chest, "just tell me…" she started but he interrupted.

"I shouldn't have to tell you. It doesn't mean anything if I have to tell you!"

Addison was really confused now. They'd had stupid and ridiculous arguments before but she always knew what they were fighting because of reasons having to do with nothing they were actually arguing about. This time was the first she felt hurt because he wasn't letting her fix the reason he was angry, and he wasn't even making sense.

"I'd better go," he offered, "I don't want this to turn into some fight where I say something I regret." He said calming his voice down, finally.

"Stay and talk to me," she said sweetly and tried to move closer to him.

"I should go. I'll call you later after poker tonight."

She watched him leave, still completely confused. She knew it wasn't a bad fight because he was obviously still talking to her and he'd leaned in and kissed her cheek before he'd turned to go, but it still didn't give her any clue as to what she did to set him off. She hated not knowing what in the hell it was that started the stupid argument in the first place, or why, for the first time, they couldn't fix it.

--

When Addison arrived at Violets that evening for Naomi's much needed girls night, she'd decided to keep her and Pete's argument to herself, at least until she found out what it the hell it was about. They quickly sat down and listened to Naomi ramble about how everything with her and Sam was changing, and that it was back to being weird between them because they couldn't decide who was moving back in with whom and if it would be weird for Maya to be living with her parents who weren't married.

The rambling from Naomi had lasted for a solid hour before she trailed off onto another thought, "…weird. You know what else is weird. You've been here a year, Addie."

"What," she said snapping out of her daze. She'd still been thinking about Pete and honestly hadn't really been listening until she heard Naomi saying her name.

"It was a year ago when you came down here, you know for your 'vacation'. Trashy novels, you doing crazy surgery on that insane surrogate woman who liked having sex with as many men as she…"

"You making out with Pete." Violet interrupted

"What did you say?" Addison said looking at her, paying total attention now.

"Ok, so it wasn't a make out, but you admitted there was tongue." Violet laughed.

"Oh my god, _Today_. He kissed me. A year ago today." She shook her head, it was stupid, extremely, but he had remembered and she didn't, and now she felt terrible. "I have to go."

--

When Addison arrived at Sam's she immediately ran to the back. It was warm enough and she figured they'd be playing poker outside. When she reached the back deck, though, she saw through the glass that they were inside in the kitchen. She knew better that to just burst into a guy's night, so just stood outside the window for a while. Cooper finally was the first to see her standing here.

"Dude, you're girlfriend's totally spying on us." He said in his usual Cooper-like tone.

When Pete turned and met Addison's eyes through the window he could tell she was all jittery and bouncy, nervous, but the huge smile on her face told him she'd figured it out. He smiled back at her for so long he hadn't realized he'd left her standing outside until Sam had walked over to the door to let her in.

"What the hell is going on?" Sam said looking back and forth from Pete to Addison as they continued to smile at each other.

"He kissed me." She said through her grinning teeth.

"Who kissed you?" Copper said sounding utterly confused and Sam's expression was saying the same thing, but Pete, still smiling, made his way over to where she was standing.

"Pete kissed me." She clarified—but they were still as confused as Addison was earlier. When Pete reached her, she spoke again, "I didn't mean to forget. I couldn't forget."

"It was stupid of me to get so angry about it. It was just a kiss." He said rubbing the back of her arm with his hand.

"Just a kiss?" she repeated playfully. "That was a great kiss—an excellent kiss." He was still smiling but she knew there was one thing she could say that would really get him, "It's why I moved here, remember?"

He laughed out loud at another running joke of theirs, "The truth finally comes out," he said taking her in his arms and kissing her, reminiscent of the very first one they'd shared, before they pulled away quickly realizing they were still in the presence of Sam and Cooper.

The look Addison was giving Pete, however, was enough to make him realize that if they didn't excuse themselves they'd be showing their friends something neither of them wanted Sam and Cooper to see. Although they were sure that if Cooper had his way, he'd watch willingly.

"Deal me out the next couple rounds, guys." Pete stated as he backed Addison out the door.

She jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed her mouth up against his. He carried her quickly across the path to her house and their clothes were off as soon as the door was closed behind them. They didn't even make it onto the couch the first time, or the second, when they thought about it. They were more up against it, than actually on it, and by the third time, they'd given up on trying for the couch all together.

"You're not going back to poker night." Addison said between breaths and kissing Pete's neck.

"Absolutely not," he agreed. As much as he liked poker, Addison panting on top of him couldn't beat anything.

"Mmmm," she moaned into his chest, "Why is sex always better on the floor?" she giggled.

"I always thought it was best in the shower—or the bedroom door—

"The acupuncture table." She interrupted and they were both laughing remembering the day they'd slipped and broken the no sex at work rule.

"I have an idea," Pete said, sitting them both up, he quickly stood and was at the back window peering through the curtains.

"What are you looking for?" she said, standing and pulling his shirt on over her head.

"No, naked, must stay naked." He called to her and she raised an eyebrow at him, "I'm making sure there's no one on the beach."

"Why." She asked finally making her way over to where he was standing.

"Because we're being spontaneous, Add. Take my shirt off, now." He said and then stared at her, waiting for her to take it off.

"We're doing what naked, exactly?"

"Skinny dipping." He stated with an adorably large smile on his face.

"Ooohh no. no. no. Someone will see us. I do not need any more people around here seeing me naked." She said seriously, but he was laughing at her.

"You don't know any of your other neighbors and Sam's already seen you before. I don't see the problem. Let's just do it." he said giving her that look.

"Why can't I just wear your shirt until we get down to the water?" she questioned.

"It's more fun if we just run down there naked." He said grinning like and idiot.

"You're really excited about this." She realized, matching his smile, "Fine." She agreed and pulled his shirt off, "But if anyone sees us, I'm going to hurt you."

But he was too busy to respond to her threats because he was pulling her out the door by the hand and before she could protest anymore they were already running down the beach. He let go of her arm and continued into the water, but she waited standing at the edge of the water with her arms crossed over her chest. "It's cold," She whined.

"Not if you get in here next to me." He promised, and she did as she was instructed. She swam out to him and they treaded water for a few minutes and he laughed at her bottom lip that was quivering from the cold water. "Cold?" he asked stupidly and she gave him an extremely annoyed and frustrated look. He pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms over hers and she pulled her arms under his and held on tightly to his back. He could feel her body tremble, and he laughed again at her for being such a girl. But he leaned in and kissed her passionately and when her tongue parted his lips he wrapped his arms tighter around her. The deep kiss was enough to send warm after-shocks through her body and his hard chest pressed against hers was starting to warm her. When he pulled back to look at her, she couldn't help but smile her biggest smile at him. They held each other, riding the dull waves for a while, enjoying the warmth of each other and the sound of the ocean around them.

"Addison?"

She leaned in and kissed his mouth, "What?" she answered playfully wondering if he was going to tease her again for being too girly and cold.

"I love you." He whispered softly, "I'm… so in love with you." He said, sounding sure and not nervous at all.

She was smiling as soon as she heard him say it, it she wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to stop now. She leaned in and kissed him again and put her forehead against his, "I'm in love with you too, Pete."

Their lips where together once again and they hadn't noticed how close they'd gotten to the shore again. Before she knew it, he was pressing her back into the sand.

"Pete. Someone will see us." She protested, but she could tell by the way he'd continued kissing down her neck to her chest, that she wasn't winning this one either and fisted her hand into his hair and pulled him closer.

Sex on the beach was definitely going on Addison and Pete's best places to have done it list.

--

They snuck back to the house and quickly showered the sand from unusual places you wouldn't particularly like finding sand. With Pete in his boxers and Addison in his shirt they whispered I love you's again, quickly realizing it felt way too good for them not to say, and possibly trying to make up for months of feeling that way, but never uttering the words, they held each other close and drifted off to sleep.

They both awoke the next morning to a loud banging and the doorbell ringing.

"Who in the hell," Pete mumbled still half asleep, looking for his watch, "What time is it?"

"Eight Thirty," Addison yawned and the doorbell rang again preceded by even louder knocking.

"We have to get it. They aren't going away. It's obviously someone who knows we're here." She said trying to push him out of bed, when she said we, she meant he.

"Anyone who knows we're here knows better than to interrupt us at eight on a Saturday morning." Pete stated, annoyed. But the ringing and knocking continued, and he angrily threw the covers of and stood from the bed.

"Wait, I'm coming, too," She said hopping up and jumping from the bed grabbing on around his neck, her legs wrapped around his waist. "You don't think, someone saw us last night, do you?" she said as they made their way down the hall, "Oh my god, someone saw us."

"Nobody saw us," he said as he reached the door. "We hate you for making us get out of bed!" he screamed, still holding Addison on his hip with one arm and opening the door with the other.

It wasn't anyone that Pete recognized, but the look on Addison's face when she'd dropped herself to the ground to stand beside him, told him exactly.

It took her a minute to find her words. She just stared, and then swallowed hard. "What in the hell are you two doing here?"


	12. So, This Pete, He's A Good Guy?

Pete looked from Addison to both sets of eyes looking at them from the porch. The woman was the first to speak.

"Ok, I'm going to pretend like the reason you didn't sound happy to see us just now is simply due to the fact that we seem to have dragged you from bed with an unbelievably attractive man so early on a Saturday morning."

At the sound of her friends voice Addison began to smile and by the time she'd finished talking, Addison was laughing. "Callie!" Addison exclaimed, pulling her friend into a hug. "Let me try that again. What are you two doing here!" she sighed happily, more enthusiasm in her voice this time.

"You left without saying goodbye, Addie. We thought we'd better come and see how you were doing," Callie admitted to her friend, "—which apparently isn't half bad," she joked motioning to Pete.

Addison laughed and flushed realizing Pete was standing next to her wearing only his boxers and she still in his t-shirt. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal if it was only Callie, but her cheeks began to blush harder considering who it was she was standing with.

"Mark—" she started, but then was completely at a loss for words. It had been a long time since she'd seen him and she wasn't exactly sure how she should feel about seeing him again—or how she should feel about the fact that Mark was seeing the two of them in so little clothing.

"We missed you, Addison." He offered, sensing her hesitation about what to say.

She smiled lightly. The truth was, Addison really missed her friends. But she had a new life now, she had Pete. She wasn't sure how throwing people from her Seattle life into the middle of her relationship with Pete, without so much as a warning to him, was going to turn out. Though he knew about her past with Mark and she'd talked to him about Callie quite a bit, he sill looked like he felt awkwardly out of place and Addison mentally kicked herself for not speaking sooner.

"I'm sorry," she said grabbing Pete's arm, who was still just standing shirtless at her side, "This is Mark." Though Pete had one of two guesses on who the guy could have been when he'd opened the door, he was extremely relieved to have been told it was Mark. He'd have punched her ex-husband, if it had been him. Mark he could handle, maybe.

"Mark, this is Pete," Addison continued with the introduction. The two men graciously shook hands, but as Mark looked away, Pete studied him disapprovingly.

"This—" Addison started.

"Must be Callie," Pete stated, turning his attention to the vivacious, wide smiled woman in front of him.

"Yes," she beamed, "It's nice to meet you, Pete."

"Do you guys want to come in?" Pete asked stepping aside and giving the two of them room to let themselves in.

"Make yourselves at home for a second and we'll go put some clothes on," Addison laughed nervously, excusing her and Pete.

--

"I'm so sorry," she pleaded as soon as they'd reached the bedroom and closed the door, "I had no idea they were coming."

"What are you sorry for? They're your friends. They are allowed to visit you," Pete replied studying her curiously.

"I just—it's just, we didn't have time to talk about it, you and me and… I don't want you to feel overwhelmed." She stated, removing Pete's shirt and replacing it with her own, but not without a small sigh from Pete, he loved the way she looked wearing only his t-shirts.

"Why would I feel overwhelmed?" he questioned, watching her pull on a pair of khakis.

"They're the kind of people who… They're going to ask you a lot of questions." She said nervously fidgeting around with the buttons on her blouse.

"Its not like they're moving in, Add. It's Saturday. I'm sure they're just here for the night. Look—we'll hang out with them today, take them to dinner tonight, and they'll be gone in the morning. They're your friends, you should be happy they came all this way to see how you are," he told her, but she still looked worried, so he pulled her into his arms. "I can handle a little interrogation. I'm sure they just want to make sure I'm good enough for you," he teased and smiled into her hair and then lifted her face so he could kiss her quickly. "I'll go shower and give you some time alone with them, okay?"

"Okay," Addison agreed, finally relaxing a little. "But hurry. I…"

"I know, you want to show off your quack to your friends—I'll be quick." He said with a playful smile.

She smirked as Pete walked into the bathroom and couldn't help but think maybe she _was_ excited to show him off to her friends; make sure they knew she'd found one of the good ones. Suddenly she didn't feel as uneasy at the thought of Seattle in her LA life (well,_ some _of Seattle anyway). It couldn't be that bad, in fact she was looking forward to it, and she ran downstairs to see her friends.

They were both sitting on stools in the kitchen, their backs to Addison as she came down the stairs. They were sitting awfully close and Callie was smiling like an idiot at something Mark had said. "So, what's going on with the two of you?" she questioned, her usual Addison tone was back in her voice now. They turned, quickly looked away from each other, blushing, and Addison thought it best to save that subject for later. "How in the world did you convince him to come down here with you, Cal?"

"Actually, it was Mark's idea." Callie informed her friend. "And there's nothing going on with us," she threw in, "We're just friends." Addison's face scrunched up into a smile, Mark was never just friends with women, please.

"I had to bring her so she'd shut up about missing you so much all the time." Mark said in his scruffy voice. "But, I wanted to see you, too. Make sure you'd found whatever it was you were looking for when you came out here."

"I want to know about Pete," Callie interrupted. "The last time I talked to you, he was just 'cute hippie boy', but now he's new boyfriend Pete. New Pete needs a name." Callie smiled.

Addison held up a hand in protest. "Uhh, no. No Mc-ing my Pete, please," She spat and then laughed realizing how ridiculous she sounded. "He's Pete, okay?"

"So, tell me everything." Callie begged, but she noticed Addison feeling hesitant in front of Mark. "Okay, fine. We'll have time for girl talk later."

"How long are you guys here?" Addison asked.

"Just the night, we've got a flight back tomorrow at four," Mark informed her as he and Addison continued to breathe in the awkward air, which Callie could plainly see.

"Why don't you two take a walk, clear the air," she suggested. "I'll wait here for Addie's hunk to come back. I want to talk to him anyway."

They were both hesitant at first but Mark was smiling sweetly at her and she quickly agreed. They headed toward the back door when Addison turned back to Callie, "Go easy on Pete, please. I'd like to keep him around, you know, if you can help it."

"Oh, I'll be nice. I swear." Callie promised as she watched the two of them walk to the beach.

--

Not five minutes later did she hear a "Hey" from a smiling Pete as he came into the kitchen, but his expression changed a little when he noticed Addison and Mark were gone. Callie sensed the worry and explained they'd needed to clear the awkward air and left her here to hang out with Pete. She also offered to move out to the deck outside so they could see the other two on the beach.

Pete laughed a little, "I shouldn't be worried, right, I mean, she's over him. But he… he's—

"Over her, too—yeah. At least he'd better be or I swear to god, I'll hit him." She spat. And Pete laughed, so Callie and Mark, he thought, at least it stopped him thinking about Addison and Mark so much. He looked at Callie and she was smiling and he knew what was coming.

"You can grill me—I'm ready." Pete joked and they both laughed.

"So, what's your story? Been married, kids?" she pried, but he just smiled and answered genuinely.

"Was married, no kids."

"Divorced?"

"No. She… she died." He said running a hand through his hair.

"Crap. I'm sorry." She said scrunching her face in discomfort.

"Don't be, it wasn't your fault."

"Ok, um, change of subject." She offered quickly and smiled, "What exactly are your intentions with my best friend?"

"I think that's a question you'd ask if I didn't already have her. But I've got her. The only intention I have now is not letting her get away." He replied, and Callie smiled.

"So how long have you two been…?"

"Been what, together? Flirting? Friends?" he realized there where a lot of stages their relationship had been in before it was an actual 'relationship'. He continued speaking when he realized Callie wanted to know everything anyway, so he'd leave nothing out. "To be honest, I'm quite sure I've had a thing for her since the moment I met her, so, I guess it's been a year since I knew that I wanted this woman in my life. We flirted for a while and then we were friends and then at Christmas we finally started to get it together. Then, New Years was when we first, well, you know… So, I guess it's been a year, more or less, depending on how you look at it," he finished with a smile on his face.

"Do you love her?"

"Yes." He replied almost immediately.

"Okay, but, have to told her?" Callie questioned and Pete smiled remembering the amazing events of the previous night.

"I told her last night, actually."

"A year," Callie stated. "You've had a thing for her since day one and you wait a year to tell her you love her?"

"I had to. I—I'm sure a part of me did love her when I met her, but not the way she deserved to be loved. I couldn't say it then, it wouldn't have been enough, especially from a guy like me. She—we—we've both been disappointed by love before and I needed for it to be different this time. I wanted her to know that when I said I loved her that I meant it in every possible way."

Callie looked as if she were about to cry, "Can _I_ have you instead?" She teased but then she was staring at Pete waiting for him to continue.

"You want me to list the ways?" he questioned, looking at Callie as if she might be slightly insane. "I haven't even listed them out to her, Callie," but she didn't look like she'd ever back down, and Pete caved. "Addison is the type of woman you can't help but be attracted to. She's the most beautiful woman … you know she's beautiful. You know that, so I know I don't need to tell you the obvious physical reasons, the trivial things. She's so much more than that. It's the little things about her that get me. The way she kicks me uncontrollably in her sleep, but still manages to wake up holding on to me. It's the way she looks in my t-shirt in the morning, imperfectly-perfect. It's because she's passionate about what she does and because she's unnervingly stubborn whenever she doesn't get her way. When she laughs at me for saying ridiculous things and then kisses me when she finally catches her breath. Because she's not afraid to yell at me if she's had a bad day, and then the way her eyes light up when I yell back. I love her because there isn't anything I would ever change about her, even the things that drive me crazy."

Pete finished with a confident smile on his face. Callie looked as if she might be about to t cry again.

--

"You look good, Mark." Addison commented honestly. Even though the conversation had still been a little awkward up until now and mostly consisted of stories about work or the wonders of California weather, Addison was starting to feel a little better.

"You look good, too. I haven't seen you like this in a long time." Mark commented honestly.

"Like what?" She laughed, "Tan?"

"Well, yeah—tan is definitely a good look for you—that and, you look happy. Like honestly happy without trying to force yourself to be," Mark told her. It was the truth, for so long in Seattle he'd only ever seen Addison's forced happiness; it was nice to see the real thing was still possible for her.

"Thanks, I think." She laughed again. "What about you Mark? Are you happy?"

"Trying." He replied quickly.

"What's really going on with you and Callie?" She asked again, feeling that they were falling back into their old groove with each other, she relaxed a little more.

"We're… I don't know, trying to make it work, you know?" Addison smiled, knowing exacting what he was saying. "I haven't slept with her—apparently Callie thinks it would be a good idea if we waited." Addison smiled again, but raised an eyebrow at Mark, thinking she knew him all too well. "I haven't slept with anyone else since she made this ridiculous decision."

"Wow, very proud. Who knew Callie would be what it took for Mark Slone to keep it in his pants," Addison teased, and Mark stared curiously at her.

"You know, I didn't ever really break the no sex bet I had with you… You were what it took. I just didn't want you to have to feel…" but he trailed off, it seemed pointless to bring it up again, he exhaled a little bit and stared at her.

"I thought maybe you hadn't." she smiled at him.

"It doesn't change anything, does it?"

"No, it doesn't. But thanks for telling me the truth. I'm sorry about that, about everything. I should have told you the truth about everything then, but a part of me didn't want to let you go."

They were both silent for a few minutes, watching the waves, breathing relieved to have laid it all out there, finally.

"So this Pete—he's a good guy?" Mark questioned, smiling at Addison.

"Yes."

"Do you—"

"Love him? I do." Addison nodded.

"Good, you deserve it." Mark said with what Addison was sure was the most sincere tone she'd ever heard from him.

"Thank you. Hey, Mark? Do you think that we can be friends? Despite everything complicated and terrible we've been through and done to each other, you were always one of my best friends. I'd really hate to lose that." She said looking him in the eye.

"I think, I'd really like that." He nodded in agreement.

"Good." She smiled happily and she reached up and hugged him quickly.

"We'd better head back," he said looking over Addison's shoulder, "They're staring disapprovingly."

Addison laughed as she turned to look back at Callie and Pete watching them from the back porch. She and Mark made their way back to them making small talk. When they all four were together again Addison smiled, "So you guys need to check in at your hotel, Mark tells me. Call us in a while when you get settled and we'll take you by the practice later and show you where we work."

"And we'd like to take you to dinner later, if you want." Pete added.

"Sounds perfect," Callie agreed, "And after that, we'll need some girl bonding time. We must talk." She gushed at Addison.

Mark and Pete exchanged uneasy looks, apparently they were going to have to spend some guy time together later, whether they wanted to or not.

* * *

A/N: So I hope I didn't freak everyone out too much with the visitors. I also choose to hope that Callie and Mark really will end up together, cause they're the only ones left on that show I can actually stand. . . Anyway this chapter I had written is extremely long, so I broke it into two parts. I'll get the next one up pronto. Thanks for all the reading and reviewing. I love hearing what you have to say.

* * *


	13. It's Pretty Damn Close

* * *

A/N: Glad to hear people love Mark and Callie together as much as I do. If one or both of them ever end up actually visiting PrP I'd be the happiest girl alive. I'd be even happier if this damn strike would end, also, so that we could get some new episodes of our show. It's seriously depressing. Anyway, on another note, I'm thinking there are three, maybe four chapters left in this. Hopefully I'll be inspired by the time it's finished to write another fic, we'll see. Anyway, thanks, as always for the reviews. Hope you like this Chapter as much as I do. I also better do a disclaimer on this one, I always forget; I dont own any of Shonda's characters, but I'd gladly take them if she's offering. Oh, and I dont own Derek Jeter, either. (Just read and you'll see.)

* * *

After they had walked Mark and Callie to the door, Pete and Addison retreated quickly back upstairs. Addison kicked off her shoes and flung herself onto the bed, lying on her back, her hands folded across her stomach. Pete followed and crawled up next to her, he on his stomach, propping himself up with one arm. When she turned her head to face him, he reached across to Addison's face and pushed some hair from her eyes and brushed her cheek with the back of this thumb. He cocked his head to the side and smiled when she scrunched up her nose and smiled sweetly at him. He knew she'd want to talk, and he wanted to know what she was thinking, but he wasn't sure if he should ask, or wait for her to speak. They were silent for a few minutes, just looking at each other, and then Pete decided he'd be the one to talk first.

"You okay?" he asked quietly, his thumb now brushing the corner of her jaw.

"I'm fine." She said quickly, but Pete gave her that look, and she knew that wasn't going to be a good enough answer for him. "It's kind of a lot to … its weird seeing them, seeing Mark." She continued, and though Pete didn't say anything, she could see in his eyes that he understood. "Mark and I have always had a weird relationship that's never really been defined, but he helped me get through a really terrible time in my life and he was always a friend to me. I don't want to lose that."

Pete shifted a little on the arm underneath him and Addison was suddenly worried she'd convinced him she was about to say something Pete wasn't going to like. She couldn't help but smile at the curious face looking back at her.

"I asked him if we could be friends," she told him, and though she was sure it could have just been him exhaling, she swore she heard him sigh in relief a little at her words, "Is that alright with you? I mean, I know it's a weird situation given our history, but it's not like it's a big deal. I mean the man doesn't even live in this state..." She breathed and stared hard into Pete's face, "It's not a big thing, but I don't, you know, have to be his friend if it bothers you."

"Why would I not want you to be friends with your friends? I know Mark was your friend—is your friend. It doesn't bother me." Pete offered, and Addison looked a little disappointed at his words. "What?" He laughed, "Did you want me to demand that I want you all to myself all the time, no sharing you?"

"Maybe," she said slowly, but her eyes were playful and she was smiling.

"You and Mark can be friends. I'm not worried," he said moving his hand from her face down to her waist and pulling her closer to him.

"You're not?" Addison questioned quietly.

"Nope," Pete breathed confidently.

"Why?"

"Because you're here, with _me,_" Pete said sweetly.

"I could just up and leave you one of these days, you know," she teased wrapping both her arms around his neck forcing him on top of her.

"Mmmhmmm," he mumbled as he pressed his lips on hers.

They didn't have to meet Callie and Mark for at least an hour or two, and the way Addison was holding tightly to Pete made him think they'd found a way to keep themselves busy until then.

--

Two hours—and two more places added to their best sex list—later, Pete and Addison were giving Mark and Callie the grand tour of Oceanside. Too bad it was a Saturday and there were no exciting patients for them to see, however, Callie kept insisting how much she hated the two of them for never working weekends. Although her friends would tell her in a heartbeat she was crazy for ever leaving surgery behind, they still couldn't help but feel the new, relaxed atmosphere had calmed her and that it was definitely a change for the better. The tour continued, while Pete and Addison shared a few stories about patients they'd had over the past months and when they reached Pete's office, Addison smiled softly was quick to share the story about that time—when this quack she hardly knew had stuck needles in her face.

--

Around six, the four of them headed for dinner. They were all keeping conversation nicely, Callie and Mark offering stories about patients and work of their own. Some stories about old times between Mark and Addison slipped in occasionally, but they all laughed, like it were just another story, and Addison felt extremely relieved. She finally felt like she was keeping the past in the past.

Sometime during dessert, however, Mark was trying to convince Addison that she missed New York, and when she insisted there couldn't possibly be anything to miss about it, Mark agreed that even if that were true, he missed being able to see the Yankees play.

"Oh, god. I almost forgot he was a Yankees fan," Pete said quietly to Addison, who was sitting as close as she could next to him.

When Mark over heard, he insisted, "The Yankees are the team of all teams."

"The Yankees are—" Pete began, but he was interrupted.

"The Yankees are a novelty. I've seen them play, and they are not as good as every Yankee fan insists they are. I mean look at the statistics. They could be doing just as well as the Mets are, but you don't hear _them_ talking up what a great team they are all the time." Addison stated hotly.

Mark stared wide eyed, as if it were almost un-real that those words had just escaped her mouth. Pete, however, beamed proudly at Addison. He'd taken her to see, maybe, five games in the last month, and he was extremely proud of the sudden interest she'd taken in it. He still wasn't completely convinced if she actually _really_ liked it or if she just did a good job pretending she did because she knew it was Pete's favorite. Either way, it was time they spent having fun together, so it didn't matter.

"I don't care if Derek Jeter is pretty. I mean he is, but then when you're looking at him and you remember he's a Yankee, you change your mind."

"Since when do you know who Derek Jeter is?" Mark laughed, "You hate baseball."

"I never hated it. You just assumed I would because I'm a girly girl who likes expensive shoes and wearing a new outfit everyday. I really like baseball—I like football better, though, honestly baseball gets a little boring to watch on TV sometimes—but Pete's taken me to see the Dodgers play and there's just something about being there that…" but she trailed off when she saw both Mark and Callie staring at her like she was crazy. "What!" she demanded.

"You're different." Mark and Callie smiled.

"Bad different?" she asked curiously.

"Not at all," Mark replied.

--

They'd all gone back to Addison's house for drinks after dinner. Addison grabbed a bunch of beers and carried them down to the rest of them on the beach. Pete had been starting a fire and as much as Addison was dying to curl up next to Pete and relax, the look on Callie's face was telling her it was going to have to wait. Before Addison had anytime to ask Pete if he was going to be fine without her, Callie was pulling her toward the shore demanding if they didn't do girl time now, it would be too late. Addison shot a quick glance back at Pete to make sure he was going to be alright and he gave her a quick wink.

It wasn't that Pete was nervous to be alone with Mark; he really wasn't_ that_ intimidated by him, it was just that if it came down to it, Pete was certain he'd lose to him in a fight. Both men glanced up from their respective beers and scoffed a little at how awkward they were making the situation seem.

"So, she likes baseball, huh?" Mark offered, figuring that talking about Addison or sports were really the only two subjects either of them could possibly need to talk about.

"Yep, although, she's got this thing for the Chargers, if you can believe it. She saw them play twice in January before they got beat by the Pats and now she's made me order this ridiculously overpriced NFL package so she can make sure she sees all their games this year." Pete was still smiling at the memory of the very first game they watched together. Football was much more entertaining to watch on TV, she'd insisted, _and_ they wore tighter pants. He couldn't wait until he could take her to San Diego to actually see them play.

"That's… weird," Mark laughed and shook his head, "...But, good. I mean, she seems— He quickly corrected himself, "She's happy."

"Yeah," Pete replied. Though he knew about what her past had done to her, whenever she talked to him about it she never seemed to really admit just how unhappy she used to be. Or maybe she did, but he never noticed because she'd always been different around him. But the way Mark spoke about it, made him realize that happy Addison was a big deal. He was suddenly filled with content and a smile spread across his face—knowing that he had something to do with Addison being happier made Pete the happiest guy alive.

"She loves you."

"Yeah," Pete replied again, still smiling, like an idiot.

"Don't screw it up. She deserves to finally be happy." Mark said quietly taking an extremely large gulp of his beer.

"I know." Pete replied. He really did know, and he wasn't about to screw it up for anything.

--

As they walked, Callie's arm linked around Addison's, they were all smiles and Callie was the first to speak.

"Sooo, details. I need them all. I _heart_ Pete." Callie insisted. "I want a Pete of my very own."

Addison laughed at her rambling friend. "Pete's all mine," she said narrowing her eyes, doing her best to sound protective, but they were giggling again. "Plus, you seem to already have a guy of your own. Care to share what's going on there?"

"You're avoiding talking about you, you know." Callie informed her with a smile. "If I tell you, will you answer _all_ of my questions about you and Pete?" Addison nodded, so Callie continued. "It's been a crazy year. My crappy marriage ended, and I needed a friend and Mark was there for me. I know, sounds familiar." Callie joked, and Addison laughed in agreement. "I don't want to keep making mistakes. So I told him we had to stay just friends until we were sure it could work. I still haven't sleep with him, you know, since before… Anyway, he makes me laugh. Is it weird that I'm telling you this, because I can totally understand if it's weird, and if you don't want me to see Mark, then—"

"No. Definitely not weird," Addison insisted. "It's good to see you happy and Mark needed to find the right woman. And you, my dear Callie, are quite a catch." Addison said triumphantly.

"I am quite a catch," Callie agreed. "I really miss you."

"I'm sorry I haven't called much," Addison said somberly as they stopped walking and they turned to face each other. "I'll do better."

"You've been busy," Callie laughed, looking back toward the house and smiled noticing Pete and Mark hadn't killed each other yet.

"I've been busy," Addison agreed jokingly.

"So," Callie stated, "Spill woman."

"What do you want to know?" Addison said scrunching up her nose; she didn't know where to start.

"How's the sex?" Callie blurted out. Addison rolled her eyes and laughed at her friend for being ever so blunt. "Hey, I'm not getting any. Help a girl out; give me something to get excited about."

"It's amazing." Addison stated seriously.

"Bitch," Callie teased, rolling her eyes at Addison. "Of course you get amazing sex, with your amazingly attractive, hunk of a boyfriend. I hate you."

"Awww, I missed you too, Cal." Addison laughed as she threw her arm around her friend.

"He really loves you." Callie stated, as they turned to walk back in the direction of the house, "Like, he gushed this morning for fifteen minutes about everything he loves about you." Addison was beaming when Callie's eyes met hers, "You love him too."

"I love him too."

"I'm so glad you're happy, Addie. I was worried about you, running out here all alone. I know you needed to get away from everything, but I was scared—"

"I was scared, too." Addison agreed. "But I couldn't have stayed Cal. Everything I could see when I thought about my future there was painful, and even though I had you, there was no way I was ever going to find the life I wanted if I stayed there. It was safe—all I ever knew was a life that somehow included one, or both, of them. I was ready for a life that didn't have to include Derek and Mark, just Addison. And even though not knowing about the future is still scary sometimes and everything isn't as perfectly as I dreamed, it's getting there…Cal, Its pretty damn close."

"I'm really glad you're happy, Addie," Callie breathed unable to stop smiling; apparently Addison's genuine smile was contagious.

"You said that already."

"I know."

"I'm really going to miss you when you leave," Addison admitted, pulling Callie into a huh. She could feel her emotions in her throat and she was trying not to cry.

"I'm going to miss you too," Callie choked out, obviously not holding her emotions near as well as Addison. "I'm allowed to visit again, right? I swear next time I'll call first."

"You can come visit me and the quack anytime," Addison replied with a smile.


	14. Addison And Pete

In the month following Mark and Callie's visit, Addison and Callie made a conscious effort to call each other at least twice a week. Because Callie's schedule was usually more hectic and unpredictable, Addison usually waited for Callie to call her. Sometimes it would be one in the morning before Callie would have a few minutes to talk, but Pete always noticed Addison's smile during their conversations and he enjoyed the fact that Addison was reconnecting with her friend. Pete was becoming closer to Callie as well. Some nights when Addison worked late or mornings she left for work early, she'd miss a call from Callie and Pete would take a few minutes to talk to her instead. Callie made Pete laugh and although she could usually manage to get Pete to tell a few bits of information he probably shouldn't, he definitely enjoyed phone conversations because she couldn't intimidate him quite as easily as she had face to face.

Also in the weeks following the visit from the aforementioned Seattle friends, Pete made sure he spent as much time as he could making Addison happy. Although he was sure that their occasional nights out to dinner and their even more frequent nights in, (which always included Pete cooking, sometimes sports, and more amazing sex, of course) he wanted to make sure they did plenty of things together that they hadn't done before. At first Addison was surprised, she'd seen nothing wrong with the way things were going, but after a while she was beginning to quite enjoy their spontaneous nights out together.

One evening in particular as Pete was driving Addison home from dinner, she mentioned she'd never actually seen the Santa Monica Pier. Almost as soon as she'd said it, Pete was turning the car around.

Fifteen minutes later they were walking hand in hand down the pier, Addison's eyes wide at the lights and smiling crowd and chaos around her.

"I can't believe I've lived here all this time and have never been here. It's kind of funny what a big deal it is, but it's bright and fun. I like it," she mentioned to Pete as they walked over toward the side so she could look out over the water.

"I'm glad we came." Pete replied and Addison smiled up at him. It was moments when he was looking back at her like that, when she could see what he was feeling in his eyes that she felt like they needed to talk about the possibility of this being the real thing.

"Pete—I've been having a lot of fun these past few weeks… I mean, we always have fun, I just meant…"

"I got it," he grinned at her, enjoying the fact that in the almost seven months they'd been together, she still got a little nervous around him when she realized she wasn't saying exactly the right thing. "I've been having fun, too."

"I know we don't usually talk about anything too serious about_ us _and I don't want to freak you out, but…" she looked up tentatively and bit on her bottom lip a little, "It's just, I'm really happy and I like us. I want us to be us for… I really, really like us." She was nervous and jittery and nothing was coming out like she'd planned it in her head, but Pete was smiling and chuckling and he reached a hand behind her and pulled her under his arm.

"I like us too," he whispered into her hair, "And I plan on us being Pete and Addison for a very long time, okay?"

"Okay," she said taking a deep breath trying to get her worried attitude to go away. She knew he felt the same way about her, she didn't doubt that, it was just that she didn't know if he thought differently about the future than he did before. She took another deep breath and decided she wouldn't push it any further on him tonight. "I thought we decided it was Addison and Pete," she joked.

"Sorry, you're right, Addison and Pete."

They shared reassuring smiles and he kept his arm around her shoulders as they continued walking down the pier. Addison smiled softly to herself. It was enough, for now, but they still weren't saying words like marriage and forever. Although she was completely content with where they were as a couple, it wouldn't hurt to know that he at least thought about marriage and forever, too. Even if it was too soon and even if they didn't _need_ those things to be happy, it still wouldn't hurt to hear him say them.

--

"So you and Addison are like, serious, huh?" Cooper questioned jokingly to Pete in the break room at Oceanside a few weeks later.

"Yeah, we're, like, serious." Pete stated in his best teenage girl impression, eyeing Cooper for being so childish sometimes. Cooper gave him a quick nod however, and Pete knew he'd dropped all funny business and was ready for serious talk. "Is it weird if I say… Is it completely insane and out of character for me to admit…" Pete was stammering, obviously completely unsure of how he wanted this to sound, but Cooper was shaking his head in confusion, begging him to clarify. "I want to be with her forever. It's not like I'm saying I want to ask her to marry me today or anything, it's just… I never thought I'd be the kind of guy who'd consider the idea of spending the rest of my life with somebody again and now… and now I'm the guy who can't think of anything else but what today or tomorrow or next week with Addie is going to be like. I'm just saying, I never thought I'd be a marriage guy again, and now I'm not completely against the idea anymore."

Cooper stared at Pete for a minute, trying to make sure that had all just come from him, from Pete, and then he spoke, "Honestly, I'm sad. I thought we were going to be bachelors together forever, man. And now you're over there rambling on about marriage like some chick."

"Coop—" Pete tried to interrupt and snap Cooper back into serious time, but he spoke again.

"Seriously, I'm proud of you man—a little jealous even. It's about time one of us finally started to get it together. I mean Sam won't even admit he wants to marry Naomi again… and well. let's face it, the woman I'm in love with has absolutely no idea of my feelings for her…"

"Ever thought of just telling Violet how you feel?"

Cooper shook his head and tried to turn his attention to the refrigerator and Pete smirked and turned away returning back down the hall to his office.

--

It was late in the afternoon one Thursday afternoon when Charlotte King had called to ask Addison to come to the hospital for a consult. Pete had taken off to Addison's place early to prepare a quick dinner before they settled in for a night of baseball. Which is exactly why, when Addison discovered her patient would need surgery two hours later, had called Pete and started apologizing before she'd even said hello.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know you're cooking and we had and evening, but this baby really needs surgery and it looks like I'm gonna be here for a while."

"Stop saying you're sorry. I'll save some food for you. I should probably go home anyway, it's been a few days and I'm running out of clean clothes."

"Okay," she offered sounding obviously disappointed. She hated nights like these, when she was stuck working or when Pete felt he needed to spend the night at his place to give Addison some alone time. Though he meant well, and a little space was a good thing every now and then, she hated being alone.

"Go. Be the hot shot surgeon you brag about being every damn minute." Pete teased, "I'll see you tomorrow."

She laughed and rolled her eyes at him. At that exact moment Pete scoffed knowing exactly what her reaction would be. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

--

Pete was quickly awoken a few hours later by the sound of his cell phone vibrating on his bedside table.

"Hello?" he said groggily, not even checking to see who it was before he'd flipped it open. No one answered, but he thought heard sniffling and then he realized it was someone crying and he immediately sat up in bed, "Addie. What's wrong? Where are you?"

"I'm home. I'm sorry to call so late it's just… you weren't here and I… I'm sorry." Addison managed to say between the short, painful breaths that were catching in her throat.

"It's okay. I'm up, what's wrong?"

"She died. The baby, the surgery I had tonight. She—there were complications—this wasn't supposed to happen," as soon as she'd gotten the words out she began to cry a little harder.

"You know you can't save them all… Addie, this isn't like you." She wasn't sobbing uncontrollably, but she hardly ever let her emotions get the best of her and Pete knew there was more that she was wasn't saying that was making her so upset.

"I know that. I know, but what if I'm getting sloppy. I don't do this everyday anymore. What if I made a mistake? What if it was my fault? It was my fault."

And that's when he heard the desperation in her voice, and he hated that. Though he knew this side of her existed, he never experienced it often, and the fact that he wasn't with her, that she was alone, that idea was breaking his heart. "It wasn't your fault Addie. You and I both know that you aren't getting sloppy. If anything, you work that much harder because you don't get to do it everyday. Addison, you did everything you could, I know you. I'm sure you didn't let her go without a fight," he finished, and he could tell she'd stopped crying a little. "Addie, everything is going to be okay."

"Why did you have to go home tonight? I miss you?" Addison was trying to return her breathing to normal now.

"I miss you too."

"Will you talk to me until I fall asleep?" She asked him without thinking how ridiculous or how two year old girl sounded.

He agreed quickly and hoped she wouldn't hear the door that had just shut loudly behind him. "Did you know the Yankees are coming in town the last week in July? I already got tickets to the Saturday and Sunday games."

Addison finally smiled through her tears, "That sounds good."

Almost thirty minutes later, Addison no closer to sleep and Pete still rambling on about nothing in particular, he heard her gasp on the other end of the phone.

"What?"

"I just heard something downstairs." She whispered and sat up in bed, "Pete, I think there's someone downstairs."

"There isn't anyone in the house," Pete whispered back.

"Okay, why are _you_ whispering? Seriously Pete, I think I hear someone on the stairs. What if there's a psycho killer in my house?"

"It's not a psycho killer?" Pete insisted quietly.

"Oh, how do you know?" she stated matter-of-factly.

"Because it's me," Pete offered, opening the door to her bedroom.

"You scared me." She said frowning, closing her cell phone and throwing it on the nightstand.

"I'm sorry." He said, doing the same.

Addison realized that Pete had driven all this way because he knew she needed him and couldn't help but give him a huge smile, "The whole time we were talking, you were driving here and I didn't even notice?"

"That was the point. It was a surprise." Pete informed her as he stripped off his jacket, kicked his shoes away, and crawled into bed next to her.

"You drove all the way here at two in the morning?" she questioned sweetly.

"You needed me."

"I miss you when you're not here." She exhaled and let all the tension roll off her shoulders as she snuggled up under his arm and buried her face into his chest. He traced his fingers up and down her back for a few minutes. He knew she wanted to talk about it some more, but that she was going to build her composure first this time. "I never wanted to forget how to be a surgeon. I know that I chose this new life and I knew it meant I was going to have to give it up, but I don't want… I _can't_ be a bad surgeon."

"You had one bad night, one that wasn't your fault. You can't tell yourself it has anything to do with you being a bad surgeon. If you go into every one you perform from now on, thinking that you've forgotten… Addison, we both know you are an amazing surgeon. If I ever questioned it, you know you'd be the first to correct me. You're Addison Montgomery. You're a board certified neonatal surgeon. You're the best."

"I'm going to pretend like I didn't just hear a hint of mockery in your voice there near the end." Addison laughed into his chest. It was amazing what being in his arms could do to her. When she'd first gotten home she was sure it had been one of the worst nights she'd ever had, and now she couldn't remember anything bad happening at all.

"No mocking. You had one bad night. But you, are the most confident woman I know, don't forget that."

"I _really_ miss you when you're not here. _And_ I hate that it takes you half an hour to get here. What if I have another night like this and I come home and you're not here?"

"… and that's in the middle of the night with no traffic." Pete added, knowing it was ridiculous that he lived so far away. "But I'll always be here for you, you know that."

"I mean,_ here_, at the house. It's weird when you're not here. You practically live here…" They both looked at each other and knew where this conversation was leading but they were going to toy around with it a moment longer.

"Accept, I don't, live here, technically."

"But you could."

"I could." Pete looked at her and she thought for a moment she saw him holding something back.

"What? Too fast? I mean I know we haven't been together _that _long but it feels like…"

Pete cut off her rambling, "Not too fast. It's just that, you know, this means you're going to have to make room for me in your closet." He said playfully.

"I did!" Addison demanded.

"Add, it's like five shirts—if I live here I'm gonna have to put all my stuff in there—I'd require, like, half of the closet space."

Addison frowned at him, they both knew she'd never be able to make that much space in the closet, she owned too may clothes and _way_ too many shoes. They laughed out loud when they'd realized they were thinking the same thing.

"Ok, so maybe like a quarter of the closet would work." He stated and wrapped her tighter in his arms.

"Deal," she giggled, "Pete, move in tomorrow?"

"Deal."

--

By Sunday, with the help of the entire Oceanside gang, Pete was successfully moved in. Addison insisted on keeping most of her things, the bed stayed, but Pete did overrule her protest of not getting rid of the cute couch. He insisted that his leather couches were much more comfortable. Although she completely agreed, she insisted they made the living room much less cute.

Addison also made Pete beam with pride when she showed him the almost half empty closet she prepared for him. She informed him that she moved all her jackets and sweaters to the closet in the hall. To anyone else it would just have been another gesture, part of moving in for any couple, but it was different for them. Clothes were very important to Addison; everything in her closet was always in its perfect place. So, although it may have meant nothing to other people, Pete was enjoying the fact he had quickly become more important than the clothes.

That night Addison and Pete sat outside watching the sun set from their porch, _their_ porch. They both couldn't help but smile like small children every time they thought about that very important fact. It was their house now; their couches, their closet, and their bed. And although Addison had spent the better part of the month hoping she'd hear him say forever, hearing him say that he was seriously looking forward to making love to her on _their_ bed, made her feel like they were beginning to mean the same thing.

* * *

A/N: So this is fluffy. Kill me. I was in a bad mood this week and Pete and Addie lovin' was keeping me sane. Thanks for all the nice reviews, as always, they're wonderful and always make the week a little brighter. I'm sad that this fic is almost over. I do believe I have a good idea for another one though, thoughts? Anyway, I don't own these characters, blah blah blah, if I did, I'd wrap Pete up in a big red bow and give him to myslef for Valentines day. Oh, well. I have my dreams. Enjoy!

* * *


	15. You're The One I Want To Grow Old With

* * *

Sorry it took me so freaking long to update. I had this whole chapter practically uploaded a week ago when my computer decided to take a huge crap on me. It was a process from hell, but I got all my files back, and most of my sanity, too. Anyway. Hope you're still interested in the story. Thanks for the reviews and again, sorry it took so long. There's just two chapters left after this and I swear if my computer knows whats good for her, she'll keep on trucking long enough for me to get them up sometime next week. love to know what you think, so keep on reading and reviewing.

* * *

Pete and Addison's relationship had settled into something—which they both liked to agree—that was comfortable and meaningful and for lack of better word, perfect; In the most imperfect of ways, of course. They'd finally realized that while making time for a little fun every once in a while was a good thing, they didn't need to be doing something at every free moment to enjoy their time together. They did, however, make time for each other and left time for each other to spend with friends. They went out to dinner or a movie once or twice a week, but realized they had just as much fun, if not more, when they were relaxing at home, just being together. Pete had decided one thing would change though, after one too many days of an impatient Addison waiting for him to finish dinner. He forced a spoon into her hand and insisted that _she_ was going to learn how to cook. It was only half a dozen burned dinners and one complete breakdown from Addison later when they finally had a breakthrough.

By early August, Pete was throwing steaks on the grill outside while Addison finished cooking the rest of the items in the kitchen, unsupervised, she bragged. They spent most of the summer that way—cooking together and enjoying the warm evening air and the sound of the ocean. After, they would sometimes just hold each other, watching the incoming waves. Other nights they would walk hand in had across the shore line, telling each other about respective work days or plans for the weekend.

Whether either of them wanted or were able to admit—they had created a life together, even if it was a challenge sometimes. Their short tempers and desire to always be right still caused them to argue, but they'd learned limits to what they could say to each other without_ actually _hurting each others feelings. And even in the moments when feelings were hurt and doors were slammed, they could only manage an hour or so apart before one or both would be apologizing, and then laughing. They laughed at how good they'd become at working on 'them'.

--

--

"I'm going to ask her to marry me," Pete said joining Violet and Naomi on the empty couch in Violets office. Naomi looked over at Pete completely surprised, but Violet smiled knowing Pete well enough to realize he was completely serious.

"It's about damn time," Violet spat out as if it were no big deal, but Naomi was still looking at Pete skeptically.

"Don't look at me like that Naomi," Pete laughed, putting his hand in the air in his defense, "You _know _I mean it. I wouldn't say it if—"

"Pete, she's my best friend," Naomi interrupted.

"But she's my best friend too, and I love her. You're going to have to stop trying to be so damn protective and realize—that while I'm sure you'll always be her best girl friend—I'm _her_ best friend too, and you need to learn to share."

Naomi glared harder at him at this, but couldn't help but notice the way he beamed when he spoke about Addison.

"You know that this means everything to her. This can't just be something you decided to do because you're bored or because you think it would be fun. Pete, Addison deserves—"

Pete opened his mouth to protest, but it was Violet who'd interrupted instead. "Nae, while I'm sure we all agree that Addison deserves the real thing and a happy ending and all that crap—you can't honestly tell me you think Pete doesn't love her."

"I know you love her," Naomi admitted to Pete, finally.

"I _want_ to marry her. It wasn't just something I decided. I've been thinking about it for a while. I even have this…" he trailed off as he pulled a small box from his pocket and revealed the gorgeous engagement ring to the girls.

"That's very Addison." Violet commented.

"I know." Pete smiled.

"When did you—" Naomi started, but Pete interrupted her before she could continue.

"One night, a few weeks after I moved in, we got into a fight. I don't even remember what it was about now, but I told her I wasn't going to talk about it anymore and took off for the bedroom. She followed after me and stopped the door before I could slam it and she said 'You know one day I'm going to be too old to run after you and stop you from slamming the door like a two year old.'" Pete smiled to himself replaying the memory in his head. "I looked at her and she was smiling at me, and I just knew."

"When are you going to ask her?" Violet questioned.

"It has to be perfect you know," Naomi chimed in.

"I know. I've had the ring for almost a month now and I haven't come up with anything yet, but I will."

"Pete, you're not going to hurt her or leave her or, you know, cheat on her, are you?" Naomi asked; her protective friend voice back in full force.

"Naomi. You've got to stop that. I'm not the guy you've convinced yourself that I am. I'm _sure_ there isn't anyone else that could make me as happy or as crazy or irritated or wonderful as she does. I would never hurt her or leave her or _ever_ cheat on her, okay?"

"Okay, fine. You have my blessing. You can ask her to marry you." Naomi said trying to sound like it was only her opinion that mattered.

"The point of this conversation wasn't for me to ask you for your—" but he got a look from Violet that told him he really should try to finish his sentence unless he wanted to start another argument with Naomi. "Thank you," he offered instead. "And you two need to be grown-ups and not go saying anything. If there were ever a moment when the people of this practice needed to learn to keep their mouths shut, this would be it."

"Nothing, not a word," Violet and Naomi agreed.

Pete nodded and stood up from the couch. He'd better plan something fast. Cooper and Sam would know within minutes and Pete was sure someone would let it slip to Addison eventually.

--

-- 

Another whole month had passed and he still hadn't proposed. Every idea he came up with seemed to cliché or overdone. They had never been the kind of couple who went over the top with sickeningly romantic gestures. He kept his cool at first. He could take a deep breath and just keep telling himself he'd come up with something. But after two months of trying to come up with the perfect moment and trying to foil any of his four co-workers plans to out him to Addison, he was becoming jittery and worried about every little thing he said.

Addison was beginning to notice how swirly he'd become in the past month. When she'd tried to ask him if everything were okay, if _they_ were okay he quickly changed the subject. The last thing he wanted to do was let a 'marry me' slip out at the wrong moment. He couldn't ruin this.

However, his distance was starting to make Addison worry. He now completely avoided any and all conversations that involved their relationship or their future. Addison was beginning to think he was freaking out and she couldn't help but wonder if it all was going too fast for Pete, if all the thoughts about their future were slowly pushing him away.

--

--

"Hey, Addison," Cooper nodded as the restless redhead entered the break room and began to rummage through the cupboards, slamming them shut with a little too much force.

"Whoa. Angry Addison, what's going on?"

"I think Pete's freaking out."

"Okay; and slamming the cupboards is helping, how?" Cooper joked, but regretted it almost immediately after a glare was shot his way.

"I know he said he didn't want to get married again and I get that. He has good reason to dislike the idea given his history. But I don't know. I thought it was different. And now whenever I talk about the future, even simple things, like where he wants to go for dinner tomorrow, he snaps and changes the subject. Do you think we went too fast? Like moving in and everything and it freaked him out?" Addison breathed and sat down and tried her best to stay calm.

Cooper could see she was obviously upset so he sat down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Addison, he's not freaked out. He loves you."

"I know that. I know he loves me. But what if we're never going to want the same future? I think we thought if we danced around the idea llong enough that eventually it would figure itself out. But I feel like it hasn't and maybe it was horrible to try to ignore it. What if we can't ever get it together?"

"Addison. I get where you're coming from and you have every right to think something's up. But maybe you just need to talk to him. Maybe you'll find out the reason he's been acting weird lately isn't because of the reason you think." Cooper was trying so hard to do the supportive friend thing that he wasn't even thinking about what he'd just said to her.

"Coop, what do you know that I don't?" Addison questioned him.

"Nothing, I know absolutely nothing." He got up from his chair nervously and started for the door. "Talk to your boyfriend," he said on his way down the hall, knowing that if he stayed any longer he'd spill everything.

--

--

Pete returned home that evening utterly unprepared. A quick recap from Cooper about his conversation with Addison earlier had made Pete realize he needed to assure her he wasn't freaking out. Well, he was, but only because this whole proposal thing was starting to piss him off, still nothing, no brilliant proposal ideas.

It was late and Addison was already in bed. Pete offered a quick 'hey' as he walked toward the bathroom. When he returned he realized she hadn't moved and was still staring at the same spot on the ceiling, so he took a deep breath and climbed in bed next to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

She curled up under his arm and rested her head into his shoulder for a few minutes and then she spoke. "Do you want to marry me?"

He stared at her for a moment unsure of how he was supposed to interpret this statement.

"I mean, I'm not saying that I need to marry you for us to be happy. I love you and I know that you love me, it's just… I want to know that if things were different, if you hadn't been disappointed by marriage before, that if it had always just been you and me... I just want to know that if we were the kind of people who… If you did believe in marriage, would you _want _to marry me?"

Pete couldn't help but laugh. After all his worrying about planning the perfect proposal, he'd become completely oblivious to the fact that his girlfriend had mistaken his efforts to conceal it as a sign that he didn't want to marry her. In that moment looking into her eyes, he knew he couldn't keep waiting. He rolled onto his side a little and pulled out the little black box from his pocket and held it in the palm of his hand.

She looked from his hand to his face and then asked, "How long have you had that?"

"A couple of months." He laughed.

"And you were keeping it to yourself all this time, because…"

"Because, I was waiting for the perfect moment. You deserved the perfect moment and I figured it would present itself eventually and then I would just know. So I kept waiting and I couldn't figure out why I couldn't… But now I realize I couldn't ever find a perfect moment, because everyday with you is perfect. In every hilarious or angry or boring day we've spent together, I never once imagined the rest of my life without you in it. You're the one person in my life who made me realize that it wasn't over. That I could fall in love again, and if this is what _real_ love feels like, then every love before this wasn't love."

He stopped for a second, watching her face as the tears began to pool at the bottom of her eyes. He smiled, rolled over her and off the side of the bed so that he was on his knee. As he pulled the ring out, she sat up so that she was facing him. "I'd convinced myself for so long that I was supposed to be alone, but somehow, you happened and everything makes sense. You're the one I want to grow old with, Addie. Marry me?"

Somewhere between the tears and the kisses she whispered yes and he held on to her tightly. They were finally going to have it, their forever, and neither of them could form into words exactly what that felt like.


	16. You Sure You Still Want To Marry Me?

Although Pete had told her that Sam, Cooper, Naomi, and Violet all knew about the proposal before it actually happened, Addison still couldn't wait to tell their friends. She'd have run next door to tell Sam and Naomi immediately if Pete hadn't insisted that if there were ever a time when Addison and Pete sex was completely necessary, it was then. And how could she resist, really. Because this man _had _just asked her to be his wife and he was looking at her like she was the only thing in the world that ever mattered to him. She couldn't help it; she melted into him—the way his huge adorable smiles always got her to. He brushed her hair from her eyes, held her hand in his, and began kissing her gently but passionately; they'd done those things many times before, but as he pulled her top over her head and she reached for the belt on his jeans, she couldn't help but feel like it all seemed to mean just a little bit more to her now.

--

--

The excitement of the engagement still hadn't worn off by the end of the week; Addison and Pete were blatantly ignoring the no consorting at work rule, and Naomi was screaming at _everyone,_ saying that just because Addison and Pete were getting married didn't mean they got to _do it_ whenever and wherever they wanted. Everyone else however, was sure that Naomi was just taking her own proposal frustration out on Pete and Addison; though she and Sam had moved back in together, Sam hadn't yet asked her to officially be Mrs. Bennett again. Although, if he knew what was good for him—and at this point, he did—Sam was going to ask her soon enough.

--

--

"Nae, one day you're going to have to forget that you don't disapprove of Pete and me. Pete loves me and we're _getting married_. You never really jumped on board with my relationship with Pete in the first place and when we're married it'll be a hell of a time trying to have a best friend who can't stand the man I'm married to." Addison blurted out to Naomi a few days later in the break room over lunch.

"Okay, breathe. I love Pete. I've always loved Pete; it's just that when it comes to you…"

"You want to protect me."

"Yes."

"Then let _him_ protect me, Nae. He _wants_ to marry me. I love him and I know he won't hurt me."

"I know. He promised he wouldn't," Naomi admitted, remembering her conversation with Pete just before the proposal.

"Then…." Addison said waited for Naomi's response.

"Then, nothing, I'm sorry. I'm happy that you're so happy. _I_ want you to marry Pete." Naomi smiled.

"Good," Addison replied, she wasn't totally convinced, but it was a start. "Then there's something else I need to talk to you about."

"What?" Naomi breathed sounding worried.

"Well, maybe I should talk to Pete about it first."

"Tell me," Naomi demanded, hating that Pete always got to know everything about her first now.

"I'm late, like a week late. We've been so preoccupied lately I didn't even realize it until yesterday. I'm sure it's nothing, it's just, I'm always on time. . . I couldn't be pregnant could I?"

"Addie we should find out. Do you want me to draw some blood really quick?"

"No. I need to do this with Pete. I'll call you tonight," she offered and retreated quickly to her office.

They hadn't talked about this, about kids. She suddenly felt like everything wonderful she was feeling about forever wasn't so wonderful anymore. What if he didn't want to have kids with her; and now she was pregnant. She couldn't do it again. She couldn't have another pregnancy with a baby that wasn't wanted. The truth was she _really_ wanted a baby, she really wanted one because of Pete and because of forever and she couldn't tell herself he wouldn't be feeling those things, too. She needed him to want to have a baby, because the truth was, it would change everything if he didn't.

--

--

"My brother, Mike, it's his birthday and..."

Addison, who was cleaning the kitchen from dinner, was half listening—her mind rightfully on other things.

"Brian and I are flying out to New York to spend the week with him."

"You're going out of town for a week?" Addison looked up from the sink at him, a little shocked. She had something really important to talk to him about, and he was telling her he as leaving for a week?

"I know I should have talked to you about it, but we do it every year. It's the only time Brian and I ever see him really and I—" he could tell she was angry and he didn't want this to turn into a fight, "Don't be mad, please. I know I should have talked to you about it sooner. I'm sorry, I'm still getting used to the whole, sharing my life with someone thing, and I messed up. I really won't go if it means that much to you," he'd been walking closer to her as he spoke and as he finished speaking he reached for her and pulled her into his arms.

"You shouldn't feel guilty about going to spend time with your family. I want you to go. I didn't mean to seem upset about it, it's just…" she wondered for a moment if starting the baby conversation now was the best idea. Why get him all freaked out and upset—right when he's got a perfect excuse to leave. She probably wasn't pregnant anyway, she thought, no need to start something on the slim possibility. She could tell Pete wanted to know what she was thinking so she offered, "I'll miss you," instead.

"I'll miss you, too. But you know—they've invented the craziest thing. I think it's called the telephone…" Pete teased and Addison smacked his arm. "I'll call you every night."

"You don't have to call me _every_ night. Your brothers will think I've got you on a leash or something." She teased back.

"If Brian gets to call his wife every night, then I get to call mine," Pete laughed a little at his word slip. Though they weren't technically husband and wife yet, there were moments when he felt like they already were, "Well you know what I mean…" he stammered for a second, but he saw her eyes he knew he'd said the right thing because she was beaming at him. He leaned in and kissed her softly, "I'll finish the dishes."

--

--

Pete left for New York on Sunday kissing her goodbye and promising that next Sunday would be there before they knew it. Although she was glad he was getting to spend some 'guys' time with his brothers, she was a little sad. They'd never spent more than a day apart since they'd been together. He'd become the one constant thing in her life and she hated that it was interrupted. Plus, the baby issue was still on her mind, and although she'd consciously made the decision not to tell him before he left, it was killing her to not have talked to him about it.

Addison tried to keep herself busy that week. If she focused on her patients, during the day at least, it was easier not to think about Pete. The first few nights he was away Addison did surprisingly well. She'd gone out with Naomi and Violet and talked to Pete a few times, but by Thursday night when Pete called to see how she was, she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Addie, whats wrong?" Pete asked, hearing distraction in her voice.

There was no point in beating around the bush now, so she was just going to blurt it out, "I'm late, Pete."

"You meeting Naomi for late drinks or something?" he questioned, her statement going completely over his head.

She giggled at him a little, "No. Pete, I'm _late_, like, almost two weeks."

"Really?" he said sounding surprised, but not freaked out.

"Yes. I'm sorry to spring this on you while you're gone, it's just, I keep expecting to get it, and now it's been this long, and I don't know. I didn't think, I mean, I thought there was no way I could be pregnant, but now I don't know."

"You sound nervous." Pete observed.

"Well… we never talked about this, about kids." She breathed. This wasn't exactly the ideal time to have this conversation. On the phone, Pete on a whole other coast, multiple freaking time zones away, and she was nervous.

"I knew you wanted kids—and you know… of course I want kids."

"Really?" she said sounding surprised this time, but definitely not freaked out anymore. "So, you don't think this is a bad thing?"

"Addie, of course not. I can't wait to have a family with you." Pete told her honestly and he could almost hear her relief on the on the other end of the phone, "But shouldn't you, you know, take a test or something?"

"I want to wait for you. I know you wont be here until Sunday, but I can't do it without you."

"Okay. Addie, try to get some sleep and I'll call you in the morning."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

--

--

But he didn't call her in the morning. He was spending it fighting with the airline trying to get his Sunday flight changed to anything Friday and by the time they'd finally found room on the earliest possible flight, it was evening in California when he finally made it home.

He'd pushed through the front door quickly and began scanning the house for her when he noticed the back door to the Patio was open. Now, the middle of November, it was cooler in the evenings and he saw her cuddled in a blanket, glass of wine on the table next to her.

"Addie?" he spoke pushing through the open door. When she turned to look at him he could tell she'd been crying.

Her eyes lit up through her tears at the sight of him. "You came home early?"

"I came home early," he said slipping into the lounge chair behind her and pulling her into his lap. As soon as he saw her, he knew what had happened, but he didn't want to ask in fear of making it worse for her.

He sat there, with her in his arms, for what felt like hours. She cried quietly into his chest as he ran his hands across her back.

When she finally spoke, she was still fighting back tears. "When I woke up this morning, it was there, my stupid period—taunting me, almost. I tried so hard to convince myself I couldn't be pregnant so that I wouldn't get my hopes up and then … I don't know, I was talking to you last night and you seemed, excited, and then I thought for a _second_ that maybe I could be…" she trailed off and continued crying quietly into his shirt, "It finally felt right, Pete and I really, really wanted to be pregnant."

"I know you did," Pete whispered into her hair as he hugged her closer and tried to calm her down, "It's going to be okay, Addie," but she continued to sob harder into him. "Baby, you're going to make yourself sick."

They stayed silent for a few minutes while Addison tried to return her breathing to normal when Pete spoke again, "So, we keep trying."

"Really?"

"You don't want to?"

"Of course I do. But, this was the first time and it didn't happen and I'm this upset. I don't know how many more times I can go through this disappointment." Her breath was still catching in her throat, but the tears had finally stopped.

"You're gonna have to fight for it a little bit. It's not going to be easy, but we'll figure it out. We could always adopt, right?" Her face dropped a little as he said this and he questioned it, "What?"

"We could adopt. It's just, when I thought that it would be just me, a baby from a random sperm donor or adopting was the only option, but now… Now I have you, and we're us and I want a baby that's from both of us. Doesn't it make you sad to think there might to be someone in this world who's a part of you… it makes me sad."

"Yeah, it makes me sad, I guess. But no matter what they'd be _our_ kids."

"Kids?" she repeated, looking up at him, she couldn't help but smile.

"We'd have to have more than one, they'd need to have someone to play with." he spoke gently but sincerely and Addison was still smiling at him. "Addie, everything is going to work out alright, don't be scared. No matter what, there _is_ someone in this world who's a part of you and He's not going anywhere. We're in this together remember? You'll always have me, even when it gets tough."

"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" Addison began, feeling like she was on the verge of tears again.

"Even if you have, it's always nice to hear." He assured her and held on to her tightly. They sat in silence for a while again before he looked down at her when she shifted to speak.

"Pete lets have a small wedding. All I want is you there, and our friends, of course."

"Okay."

"What about May third?"

"For the wedding?" Pete questioned

"Mmmm hmm," she mumbled, smiling into his chest.

"That's a very good day, I like May third."

"And maybe after we're married and we've spent enough time being Mr. And Mrs. Wilder, we could try again to have a baby?"

"That sounds perfect," Pete agreed.

"You sure you still wanna marry me?" Addison asked, realizing what a mess she must look like after what she'd just gone through.

"Absolutely."

* * *

Thanks again for reading and reviewing everyone. It's always nice to see what everyone thinks of the story and if I'm keeping it good and intresting enough and all that. Anyway. I was planning on just one more chapter, but it's getting long and I may need to break it into two parts. So keep checking back, hopefully one or both will be up soon. School is crazy, but spring break is coming up soon, so we'll see. Hope you enjoyed, and keep reviewing, it helps me to know what is good and no good. oh, and a Disclaimer, cause I always forget: I own nothing. If I did, I 'd bring the show back now instead of making everyone wait untill freaking fall. no PrP for 7 looong months. I dont know what I'll do...

* * *


	17. This Was So Against The Rules

In the weeks following, Addison tried to keep her mind on other things and Pete did his very best to assist in her efforts. The holidays came quickly which helped a great deal. They had a whole week of anniversaries in December, Addison kept reminding Pete. Her birthday, the first night they slept with each other, their first date, New Years, and finally _sleeping_ together.

They spent her birthday doing whatever Addison wanted. Pete made her breakfast in bed and then took her shopping. It was a long afternoon and Pete was sure that way too much money was spent on things she'd probably never use or wear, but she was smiling, and that was all that mattered. Although Pete would have been more than pleased to hear she'd like to return home for a long evening in bed, Addison asked if they could take all of their friends out with them for a nice dinner. After reluctantly agreeing, Addison promised they'd have plenty of alone time when they returned home.

Over their meal Pete and Addison told their friends they had picked a day for the wedding and that they'd decided to keep it small. Though Addison was sure Violet and the boys could care less about wedding details, she smiled and said it would mean everything if the four of them would be there. Of course they all agreed.

Though the night started out with the assumption of needing to be passionate the moment they returned home—hungrily kissing each other as they tugged off parts of the others clothes—by the time they had made it to the bed, half dressed, they stopped and Pete pulled her into his arms.

"Did you have a good day?"

"I had a really good day," she breathed, as she scooted closer next to him.

"I'm glad."

Pete was staring in her eyes, and she knew there was something else he wanted to say.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Everything that's happened in the last year," he told her, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"It's been a good year," she agreed.

"It really has. Ad, I was thinking, maybe we shouldn't wait to try to have a baby."

"Really?" Addison questioned. Though somewhat excited at his words, she didn't want to think about it. Her chances of getting pregnant were small, she knew that, and a part of her only wanted to think about the holidays and then the wedding, because worrying about _not_ getting pregnant wasn't something she needed on her mind. Bust still, hearing him say he didn't want to wait—thoughts of Pete and a baby in her head—made her heart race a little.

He could see her thinking it over in her head and he could read the worry in her eyes. He traced his fingers along her cheek, "I know you're scared of being disappointed and you have every right to be skeptical and you can say no if you really don't want to … It's just, I think if we wait until we're married you'll want to get pregnant so bad that we'll be trying _too_ hard and then we'll just get more frustrated that it isn't happening."

She stayed silent, but she had been listening intently, making sure she was thinking it all out.

"I just thought," Pete continued, "If we started trying now and not making it a big thing that maybe we'd get lucky and it would just happen."

"And what if it doesn't? What if we do everything right. What if we're trying just enough but no too much? Thinking about it, but not thinking about it. We do everything right and still nothing."

"Then we—I know you still hate the idea of my holistic voodoo crap—but there are a couple of acupuncture things we could try. Or there's always Naomi," he scanned her face, but he couldn't read exactly what she was thinking. "Look, I know this was a lot. I just wanted to tell you what I was thinking. You don't have to say anything right now. If you need some time to think about it I understand."

"I don't want you to think the reason I need time is… It's not because I don't care what you think, I do. It's very sweet and I love that you want this as much as I do, it's just a lot to think about and I need a little time."

"Okay." He whispered pulling her closer into him and wrapping his arms tightly around her waist.

"I really do love that you've been thinking about this," she breathed into his chest. "I know you really wanted to have sex tonight, but do you think we could just stay like this?" Addison questioned feeling emotionally drained. With everything on her mind all she wanted was to feel his arms holding her close.

He shook his head and kissed her neck and Addison reached up and hugged her arm around his shoulder.

"Happy Birthday, baby." He whispered into her hair as she began drifting off to sleep.

--

-- 

They spent the next few days avoiding the subject. They spent Christmas Eve with the entire Oceanside gang and Christmas morning was spent just the two of them before Pete and Addison headed to San Diego to spend the evening with his brother.

Though Addison had met Pete's brother in LA a few times, she'd never been to San Diego or met his wife and children. Pete had assured Addison that they didn't have to go if she wasn't feeling up to it and she would have agreed to stay home—they both knew she wasn't feeling up to a lot of people—but it meant a lot to Pete. When they had finally arrived and she saw two vivacious blonde girls running toward the door screaming, 'Uncle Pete! Uncle Pete!' and Pete laughing and pulling his nieces into his arms, Addison was glad she'd agreed to come.

--

"The girls were hilarious. I can see why you talk so highly of them. They really love you."

"They liked you. They usually don't warm up to strangers that quickly, but they invited you to the princess room, I'm not even allowed in there," Pete laughed, "They really liked you."

"I don't know if they liked _me_ so much as they liked my fancy shoes," Addison joked and Pete chuckled.

"Those are some pretty great shoes," he agreed reaching for her hand, "Thanks for coming. I know you weren't feeling totally up for it."

"I'm glad that we came," she said returning the grasp on his hand as she looked over at him. "Pete, let's try to have a baby."

All he could do was smile, "Okay," he agreed.

--

-- 

The last week in April came before they knew it. Thoughtful, but not stressful, wedding arrangements were made by the two of them, and readjusted by their over thoughtful friends, of course. They decided to get married on the beach at home—a week in Hawaii for the honeymoon.

Though Addison still hadn't gotten pregnant, Pete's assurance they were in it together and the new and interesting sexual positions they had been trying out were enough to keep her sane through it all. She knew she couldn't—wouldn't have gone through it all without him. Also, knowing their wedding was just days away, was making it easier not to think about.

--

Sunday May 3rd, the day—was finally here. The men in their suits, women it their dresses, they were just waiting on Addison. As per usual Cooper happily informed them. Naomi when up to check on her and when she'd returned to find Pete, he was already down on the beach with Cooper and Sam.

"What the hell is taking so long?" Cooper whined.

"Our women—always have to look perfect. It doesn't matter if they keep us waiting, _especially_ on their wedding day," Sam explained, knowing the feeling all too well.

"She says something's wrong. She won't talk to me," Naomi told Pete, "She's asking for you."

"Okay," Pete was confused and hurried up to the bedroom.

--

"Addie, it's me," he said knocking on the door quietly first before pushing it open.

She was standing in the corner of the room in front of the mirror. Her red hair was in flowing curls that were pinned loosely to the side and fell over one shoulder. Her dress was fitted and long, covered in the most extensive beading. It gathered around the neck and scooped low revealing her shoulders and back. At this point in their relationship, there weren't any parts of her body he hadn't seen or any fantasies they hadn't fulfilled, but he had to admit, there weren't words to describe the feeling of seeing the woman he was about to marry, in her wedding dress, simply stunning before him. Though he was sure he was supposed to experience this feeling as she was walking down the isle to him, it didn't change the fact that he still had to swallow hard first before he was able to speak.

"Oh my God, you look, amazing," he gushed, and she turned to look at him.

"You're in a suit," she laughed, moving closer to him, "You're wearing a tie!"

"Why do you sound surprised? You picked out this tie!" Pete laughed back.

"I know, I guess I just always expect to see you in a t-shirt and your jeans," Addison giggled, "But seriously, you look really sexy."

He smiled at her, she was nervous. "Not that I'm not glad to be up here with you right now, but, is there something wrong, because our friends are all waiting down there for us to, you know, say I do and everything. So if you've changed your mind or something we probably should…"

"No. God, no, I haven't changed my mind," she assured him, "There's just something I wanted to say to you before we get down there in front of everyone."

"It's not like we've ever been able to keep secrets from them," Pete joked, but she was serious and he smiled and looked her in the eyes, "Sorry, I'm listening."

"Pete, you're always saying that I deserve to be happy and you've done everything you could—everyday you do things and say things that make me feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world. I just want you to know that you deserve to be as happy as you've made me. And I know I worry and I'm scared about certain things sometimes and most days I probably don't show you as much as I could, but I just want you to know that I love you. I love you in every cliché, cant eat, cant sleep, soul mate kind of way because you're you and even when I feel like I've had the worst day, it never is because you're there to hold me. I love you so much and I promise that I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to make you as happy as you make me."

"You're such a cheater. You called me up here so you could practice your vows before you had to say them in front of everyone!" Pete laughed, although not before choking down a large lump that had formed in his throat somewhere around the part when she said the first I love you.

"You know I'm not good at speaking in front of people," she laughed back giving his arm a quick smack, "Come on," She blurted, wiping her eyes and checking herself once more in the mirror, "Let's get married."

"Hold on there, crazy in the head, if you get to practice, so do I." He stated sternly, stopping her on her way to the door.

"Fine," she agreed reluctantly.

"Addison, before I met you I was sure I'd never meet anyone I could ever love as much as I love you. But it happened, it took us long enough to get it together, but it happened, and I fell so madly in love with you. And if there is one thing I had to say in particular that makes me realize just how much I love you, it would be in the way you love me back. You don't have to say it or have to make an effort to show it, because I see it. I see it in the way you smile at me when we're together, or when you laugh at me when I say something stupid or when you thank me for cooking for you while you're sitting on the counter watching—even though I _did_ teach your ass how to cook hoping you'd help me more than, like, once a week…" Pete laughed a little as he began to ramble a little off subject, "I guess it's good we decided to practice… look, you're making me nervous, bouncing over there, looking at me like you're gonna cry again, so let me just say, that you—," he breathed in deep as he reached for her hands and took them in his, "You are my best friend. You are the most unbelievably beautiful woman in the world. You make me laugh, you're unnervingly stubborn in the sexiest way possible, and you have the biggest, most caring heart, and _I'm_ the luckiest _guy_ in world because you love me."

He'd wanted to be quick so that she wouldn't cry again, but she had. He reached an arm around her gently and pulled her in to a soft kiss.

"This was so against the rules." He told her when they'd finally pulled away.

"I know." She laughed a little and couldn't help but smile at him.

"Do you think we could go down there and get married now? Please?"

"Yes," she laughed, "Let me fix my make up and I'll be right down. Two minutes."

As he turned for the door her voice stopped him, "Hey, incase I get nervous down there and mess it up, don't forget what I said up here. And Pete, you're _my_ best friend, too. I think I forgot to say that."

He couldn't help but shake his head at her a little, "You won't mess up. It will be perfect no matter what happens. See you down there." He grinned and winded at her quickly before he disappeared out the door.

--

Twenty long minutes later, makeup fully reapplied, Addison made her way down to Pete. The feelings of imagining this moment a thousand times couldn't compare to the actuality of the moment finally being real. And when he smiled at the sight of her making her way towards him, there was a moment when they both couldn't breathe. She was about to become Mrs. Wilder, they both thought together, respectively, and she smiled back at the man in front of her. 

* * *

So they're married. yay. I didn't write the actual wedding because in every draft I tried, it never came out right, so I hope this worked. Thanks for reading and reviewing and for waiting around so long for this next chapter. I needed it to be right, and I'm still not sure if it is, but I've suffered enough, and we all deserved this chapter to be done with. let me know what you think.

* * *


	18. Yes, Mrs Wilder, Whatever You Say

* * *

So, I completely realize that it has been an unbelieveably long time since I've updated, but If you had any idea how crazy life has been for me lately, I'd like to think you'd all understand. From a long list of excuses starting with Work, Tons of School work, Moving, and the process of kicking my old computer to the curb and purchasing a new one, it's been one hell of a month or so. Anyway. Glad to be back, writing helps me not want to kill absolutlely everything around me. So sorry if I've made anyone angry with me for not posting in so long. Here you go. I may be out of practice, R&R and let me know what you think.

* * *

Though neither of them can pin point the exact moment their lives began to feel different, both will tell you that neither of them expected that marriage to each other would feel this way. Though it takes some obvious adjustments—his bank account or hers, or whether she's allowed to drive _his_ car because technically now it's _theirs_— there really aren't any huge hurdles left for them to struggle over. They still do all the same things they did before they were married. They still walk hand in hand on the beach at night and hold one another when someone has had a bad day. Though no one would dare say the word perfect to describe their marriage, most thought it more often than not; including Addison and Pete.

Their honeymoon served as a much needed get away. They both realized they hadn't been away together since early in their relationship. Neither had been to Hawaii before and they forced themselves to leave the hotel room and make sure to experience all the island had to offer. That does not mean, though, that they didn't make time for plenty of newlywed sex.

On their first night in Hawaii after walking on the beach together, Pete placed a hand on the small of his wife's back and they returned slowly back to the room.

Their first night as husband and wife was as perfect as their first night together. It was slow at first and passionate, Pete's hand always in movement against her as if trying to convince himself that she was real, that he was making love to his _wife_. Nothing in his life had made him so happy.

Hours later when they'd both found it difficult to breathe, Addison lying on top of him, whispering I love you's and kissing his chest, she smiled and said, "I have something to show you. It's over there in my bag." She eyed him playfully and he knew that meant _he_ was getting up to retrieve whatever it was she wanted to show him.

"What am I looking for exactly?" Pete questioned as he slid out from under her.

"Just get my wallet," she instructed and he turned toward the desk and began fishing through her bag. "_Nice_ ass, Mr. Wilder," she giggled.

"Seriously, in all these years you never noticed my ass before?" he laughed back.

"Of course I noticed it, baby. It just feels different now."

"My ass?" Pete quipped, a little confused.

"No… I … because we're married it just feels… never mind, just bring me my wallet will you? I want to show you something."

Pete crawled back into bed beside her and put and arm around her as she settled into the crook of his neck. Addison opened her wallet and pulled out her driver's license. Pete didn't say anything at first but when she prompted him to 'look' and pushes it closer to his face, he takes if from her and reads, 'Addison Montgomery Wilder'

"They'd been bugging me to get a California's driver's license for a long time and I know we never talked about it, you know, changing my last name, but I really wanted to be Mrs. Wilder, not hyphenated, not Montgomery-Wilder, just Wilder." For a long time all he could do was look at her and after she felt like he might never speak again unless she asked, she nudged him, "Say something."

"Do you have any idea how much I love you, Addison Wilder?"

"I think I have a pretty good idea."

--

--

It was easy to envy a couple like Addison and Pete, Violet complained. They're just 'so in love with being married to each other it makes me sick' she would tell anyone who would listen. But Addison and Pete were ridiculously happy, and as much as Violet complained, it was probably she who was most happy for Pete and Addison's marriage, maybe because it had brought her and Cooper closer together. They'd been attempting a functional relationship for almost four months now.

Addison and Pete's work environment changed, too, but in a good way. They tried to save relationship things for home and work for work, and in the now four months of marriage had not had sex in the practice once. Which was an amazing feat; all of the members of the practice had to admit. Laboring moms happened to love Mrs. Wilder just as much as they loved her husband. Most found it unbelievably sweet that such an attractive husband and wife duo—if you will—were bringing their baby into the world. Some of the mothers would comment on what amazing parents the two of them were going to make after watching Pete pass a newborn to Addison who would then rest the child in its mother's arms. Pete would always smile graciously and say thank you and although Addison knew they meant it in the nicest possible way, it was always hard for her to do the same. On this September day in particular, Pete politely excused them from the room and guided her down to his office and closed the door behind them.

"It's ok, Addie." Pete assured her and rubbed her back as she sighed into his embrace. "It's going to be okay."

"I'm ready to have a baby, Pete." Addison said as she reached behind him and switched the lock on the door.

"Addie, you know we promised Naomi and Sam there would be no sex in the office while we're working."

"Please." She said, running her hands up the hem of his t shirt, the beginnings of tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

He couldn't help but smile at his wife as he pulled her lips up to meet his. "I'm going be in so much trouble." But even as he spoke he pulled his shirt over his head and started for the buttons on her blouse.

"I'm your wife. You can't be in trouble for having sex with your wife in _your_ office." She teased as she played around with his belt and moved for the button on his jeans.

"I know it's my office, but it's not my practice. Naomi will kill me. Not you, just me."

"Oh, she has got absolutely no room to talk. She has sex in this practice with her husband all the time." She whispered as they made their way back to the acupuncture table. "Don't worry about Naomi; just take your pants off."

"Yes, Mrs. Wilder, whatever you say."

--

--

And just like that, she was pregnant. After one close call and another whole year of trying, she was finally pregnant. Only, Addison knew better than to get her hopes up so soon. She knew the first couple of months would be the hardest, but if she could make it through those, there was no reason to believe that she wouldn't have a completely successful and healthy pregnancy. She didn't want to get anyone else's hopes up either, especially Pete's, and until she knew that this pregnancy was through the hard part, that she had nothing to worry about, no chance of miscarriage or any other problems, she was just going to keep it to herself. Well that _was_ the plan until one afternoon, when she was about six weeks along; Naomi caught her trying to give herself an ultrasound.

After minutes of much needed celebration, Addison admitted she was glad to finally tell someone, but swore Naomi to secrecy until she was at least twelve weeks. And when Naomi wondered why she hadn't at least told Pete, Addison explained that she couldn't imagine the look on Pete's face if she were to have to tell him she'd lost the baby. "I just want everything to be perfect," she explained. "When I know everything is going to be okay, then I'll tell him."

Though Naomi had to fight all she had in her not to protest, she reluctantly agreed, but made Addison promise to let her take over as doctor from now on.

--

--

"I think I could maybe tell you if it's a boy or a girl today, if you want Addie." Naomi mentioned as Addison settled herself down onto the exam chair.

"Nae, be serious. You know I'm dying to know, but I can't. Not without Pete."

"Speaking of, when are you gonna tell him Addie?"

"Does everything look ok? With the baby, I mean?" She asked nervously, though at her now fourteen weeks a long, there really wasn't too much to still be worried about.

"Everything looks perfect Addison, just like I told you last week."

"Okay. Pete's taking me out for dinner for my birthday tonight. I'm going to tell him tonight."

--

--

After Addison and Pete had returned home from their romantic evening out, they settled onto the couch and Pete suggested they open a bottle of wine. She thought there were really no way of not telling him now, and tried to begin the conversation as calmly as she could. Although to be honest she hadn't a clue of how she was going to say it.

"Maybe wine isn't such a good idea." She started, "There's something I need to tell you."

"Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine. Pete, I'm, I'm pregnant."

His reaction was exactly the one she'd been picturing in her head, and her smile matched Pete's as he shook his head and searched for the words to express exactly what he was feeling.

"Oh my God, Addie." He breathed, "We're going to have a baby," and immediately pulled Addison into his arms, and they stayed like that for a long time. "So what do you want to do now, I mean, we should probably tell Naomi, and you know, set up to do an ultra sound and tests and everything."

Here was the hard part; Addison thought to herself, "Actually, Pete," she started and took a quick breath, "Naomi already knows. She's been checking up on me for a few months now." Pete looked a little confused as she continued, "I just wanted to make sure everything was fine before I told you. I was scared there was a chance I could have a miscarriage or something would go wrong and I just didn't want to put you through any of that. So I waited, but everything's fine, the baby's wonderful. I'm about fourteen weeks, and Naomi says we can find out if it's a boy or a girl soon if you want. Or we could wait, you know, if you want it to be a surprise."

"How could you not have told me? All this time?"

"Pete, I just. . . I know you. You would have been sweet and supportive if something had happened, but I know you would have been just as disappointed as I was, and I just didn't want that for you. I didn't need both of us to worry."

"You lied to me." Pete said slowly, standing from the couch.

"No, I didn't," she breathed, surprised he was reacting this way. She was sure he'd be weary that she didn't tell him, but more than happy when she told him that their baby was doing perfectly fine. "It's not like you _asked_ me if I was pregnant and I said no, I just waited to tell you until I was sure."

"Don't do that. Don't you make it seem like you're completely in the right here and I'm the one completely unjustified in my feelings. This is something we were supposed to do together!" Pete almost snapped, "What happened to the Addison who couldn't even take a pregnancy test without me, huh?"

"Please don't be angry with me Pete. I didn't do this to hurt you or make you upset with me."

"This is something wives usually want their husbands to do with them, Addison. I've missed three months of appointments; I know nothing about how you're feeling, or about our baby. And don't even get me started on the fact that Naomi knew before I did! Jesus, I'll bet she just loved having this to hold over my head!"

"Please stop yelling. We never fight like this. I hate this. I'm pregnant, Pete. We're supposed to be overjoyed about it, together."

"Oh, I'm sure you and Naomi have been plenty joyful enough for the both of us, haven't you?"

"That's not fair, Pete please. I just didn't want to hope for anything too soon this time. I just wanted it to be perfect. Please stop being angry, I'm sorry. I love you. Get excited with me. I'm pregnant; we're going to have a baby."

"I need to take a walk," Pete grumbled as he finally turned from her, and headed toward the door.

"Well, I'll go with you."

"No, I just need to be alone for a little while."

Addison almost couldn't believe what was happening. They'd never had a fight where one of them had actually _wanted_ to leave. They'd hide out in separate rooms, sure. Give each other time to cool off, twenty minutes tops, and they were in each others arms apologizing; but not this time. He was going to leave, and she sure as hell wasn't about to follow. She was mad, too. She was the one who was pregnant for Christ's sake. How could this have possibly just happened? She was married to the most perfect guy for her. They were living their imperfectly perfect life together. This was the dream. The dream, however, did not include her husband of almost eight months to walk out on her when she told him she was pregnant. Yes, she waited to tell him, but she had her reasons and intentions, all of which made perfect sense to her. She was NOT about to apologize. But maybe she should, if that would get him to say. But before she could turn around to stop him, she jumped and her heart caught in her chest at the sound of the front door slamming shut loudly from behind her.

* * *


	19. Stop Addisoning me, Peter

Honestly, he couldn't believe he'd done it. He'd just walked away from Addison, his wife. He wasn't that guy; he hadn't been for as long as he could remember. The old Pete would have acted this way but not _this_ Pete. He was the guy who married Addison, the woman who changed everything. She's the one, the one who was worth it, the woman who made him the kind of guy who should turn around, walk back in that door, and apologize to his wife for acting like a complete ass whole. But he couldn't. For whatever reason, he didn't. He was angry and although there wasn't anything he could do to change it or even the fact that they were finally pregnant was going to stop him. He knew not going back now would inevitably make things worse, but he had to get away. He needed to talk to someone who wasn't Addison. So, he got into his car and drove down the streets of Santa Monica at almost twelve in the morning. Twenty minutes later Pete found himself knocking on Violets door. They only thing he hadn't planned on, however, was for Cooper to be there when she answered.

"Hey Pete, what are you doing out so late?" Violet questioned.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you'd have Cooper over. I should have called. I'll just go." Pete apologized.

"No, Pete, it's obviously important. You drove all the way here. Come in, what's wrong?" She motioned for Pete to let himself in, and she waited until he'd passed her to close the door behind them. Violet and Cooper followed Pete quietly to the couch.

"Addison's Pregnant," Pete admitted after a long silent pause.

"Pete! That's wonderful," Violet observed, while Cooper was clapping his shoulder and muttering his own words of congratulations. But they both fell silent, when they'd realized Pete was far less excited than the two of them were.

"She's three months along and she just told me. We… we had a fight," he breathed, lowering his head and running his hands through either side of his hair.

"Oh, Pete," Violet breathed, "You had a fight and you… left?"

"I know. I can't stay long. I've got to get back, it's just, I needed an outside perspective, just to see if, you know, I'm overreacting or not."

"Why don't you start from the beginning," Violet suggested.

"Well, it's not a complicated story really. We get home from dinner tonight and she tells me she's pregnant and I'm … I don't think I've ever felt so happy, I mean right up there with the day she said I do, you know. So I ask her when she wants to go get checked out, if she wants Naomi to be her doctor, and she says Naomi's been checking on her for the past few months. She's fourteen weeks. She says she didn't tell me until now because she was scared of there being a problem with the pregnancy. She didn't want to have to tell me she'd lost the baby…. It's _our_ baby. What makes her think she gets to decide whether or not she's going to tell me that she's pregnant with_ our_ baby? Why the hell does she think I don't havr a right to know?"

"So, long story short, you're mad because Addison wanted to make sure the baby was healthy before she told you she was pregnant?" Cooper asked stupidly, obviously not helping the situation, and after an eye from Violet, he returned to silence again.

"Pete, she was just doing what she thought was best for you, for both of you."

"If it was the right thing to do, how can I be so angry?"

"Maybe it's not just about what Addison did, maybe it's—and don't kill me here—but maybe it's about more than the fact that she kept it from you. Maybe it's a little to do with the fact that she's acually pregnant. You've wanted a family for so long, even before Addison, and maybe you're just scared of the fact that it's all finally happening. Like you think that maybe you're not ready or that you don't deserve it or that the baby will change everything. You know Addison is right to worry, she deals with difficult pregnancy's all the time, and it's scary when it's finally happening to you, when it could be your baby she'd lose. She needs you, though, no matter what happens. You can be angry, but you'd better get over it because it's only going to get harder from here. Pregnant Addison is always going to be right, even when there isn't a chance in hell she could be, she's still right, got that?"

Pete finally laughed a little for the first time, "Got it. Maybe I am scared to be a Dad, I don't know… I should really be talking to Addison about this, huh?"

"Stay for a few more minutes. Maybe have a beer with Cooper before you head back. But think carefully about what you're going to say when you get home. The last thing you want to do is go to bed with her even angrier at you."

--

--

The entire drive home Pete was going over his conversation with Addison is his head, but it was pointless. He knew that because she was as unpredictable as he was when it came to saying things they didn't mean in the heat of the moment, that nothing he planned to say would probably actually allowed to be said. The closer and closer he got to home, though, his jumble of thoughts were all beginning to fall into place on one particular fact. They were going to be parents; a baby. Addison wanted it so badly she wanted to make sure it was going to be perfect. He was going to make sure she knew that there was nothing he wanted more than to have a child with her. A little girl, maybe, with Addison's eyes and hair, nothing would be more perfect. Please lord, let her let _him_ explain. If she yells and they can't talk it out, it's going to be bad. The only thing worse, Pete guessed, would be if she refused to speak to him at all. And as it was now more than two hours later, he feared it would inevitably be the latter. As he pulled in the drive way, strode up the walk and opened the door, he was completely surprised to see she was sitting on the floor in the exactly spot she'd been standing when he left

--

--

Addison turned at the sound of the door slamming and waited. She waited for him to come back inside. He had to have just stepped out onto the porch for a breath, maybe walk down the path, but he was coming right back inside, she told herself. But she heard the car start, and she watched with wide eyes as it pulled away. Thirty minutes later when he still hadn't returned, she slinked down to the floor, pulled her knees up to her chest and let the tears fall. Two hours and sixteen minutes later when she finally heard the click of the front door, she hadn't thought at all about where he'd been, or what she was going to say. All she had seen were the images of the door slamming, fighting as hard as she could to pretend she didn't feel same as she had with the door in New York, with the rain, and the tears. She was supposed to be different now. Pete made her different. Their life together was different, and they way they loved each other… She _had_ to convince herself that it wasn't the same. And as she looked up at him, she thought he looked almost excited to see her sitting there waiting for him, like maybe he'd expected her to have gone to bed or something. But she couldn't smile or look at him or even speak.

As Pete tried to say something, she stood up from the floor and turned for the stairs.

"Addie…"

"Two hours Pete, I waited two hours and sixteen minutes for you and now I'm exhausted and I just want to go to sleep."

"Addie…"

"Not tonight, Pete." She insisted as she strode down the hall to the bedroom.

"We need to talk about this," Pete said gently.

"We will."

"Addison." He almost whined.

"Just get into bed Pete," she instructed, as she did the same. Not caring to remove any of her make-up or clothing from earlier in the night.

"Addison." He said, more forcefully this time.

"Stop Addison-ing me, Peter." She said closing her eyes, but opened them again quickly to flash, what Pete was sure, was the smallest of smiles.

They were silent next to each other in bed for the longest time, when Pete took a breath and said it again, "Addison?" This time in the sweetest possible voice he could muster.

"What?" she breathed.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

--

--

In the morning he woke up hours before her. He hadn't slept well at all. All he could think about was the look in her eyes when he'd come through the door the night before. She looked angry and surprised and hurt. He'd done that. No matter what she'd done or kept from him, he'd hurt her, and that was never his intention. He'd decided he could make her breakfast; that was a start. Scrambled eggs and French toast with strawberries and bananas. He knew they were okay; they hadn't gone to bed completely angry. She said she loved him, but he still needed _her_ to know that everything was going to be fine.

"Hey." Pete heard, somewhat sleepily, from behind him.

"Good Morning."

"You're cooking for me." She observed.

"I always cook for you."

"Not when you're mad at me, you don't."

"I'm not mad at you," Pete said, moving toward her, "I was upset last night, but I'm not anymore. I talked to Violet last night, and I realized that I was an idiot for getting so mad and leaving like I did. Actually, I'm sure I didn't need Violet to help me realize that it was idiotic for me to have left, I realized it the second I got into the car."

"But you still decided to go." She breathed, obviously still hurt by the fact that he'd left her.

"I felt like I needed someone else to help me figure it all out."

"And?"

"And, I'm not going to apologize for being angry. I felt like I had every right to be."

"You're right, you did." Addison agreed.

"I felt like I missed out on important parts of the pregnancy that I—we—can't get back. They day you first heard the baby's heart beat, it was without me. When I hear it, it won't be the same for you and that hurts me. I realize that it's trivial and that it isn't worth fighting over. But I just want you to know that I felt hurt, that's all." Pete offered quietly, and Addison realized for the first time just how much her being pregnant meant to him.

"I'm so sorry, Pete, God, I didn't even think about those things. I just kept thinking that I needed to protect you, and me. The last think I'd ever want to do is hurt you." She began to cry then and Pete moved to her.

"I know."

"I really am sorry, Pete."

"I know." Pete made to put his arms around her, but before he could, she spoke again, looking him strait in the eyes.

"But you hurt me, too, Pete. You left. I never thought—I never wanted to become that wife again. The one who's husband can't wait to leave her." She cried even harder.

"You think I'm like Derek? That I would leave you and never come back?"

"I didn't know what to think. All I knew was that you were slamming the door and the only thing I could think was that it couldn't possibly be happening again. I'd driven you away, just like I'd done before. Only, I never wanted it to be this way with you. I wanted us to be so, so different."

He had to pull her into his arms then. Her chest was heaving uncontrollably, her breaths coming sharp and quick. "Addison, we are different. I… I can't promise you that in our next forty or fifty years that we're not going to have a fight that makes me want to scream in frustration and feel like I need to get away and remove myself from the situation. But that does not mean that I want to get away from _you_. I'll always come back to you. Here is the only place I want to be."

"Really?" she croaked, looking up at him from tear stained eyes.

"Yes. Addie, I'm sorry that I behaved like a jackass. I love you and I never want you to be disappointed in me. The way you looked at me when I came home last night, I never want to give you a reason to feel that way again. It broke my heart."

"I'm sorry too. I honestly never meant to hurt you. I realize how it looks like I was only thinking about myself, but I really was thinking about you and the baby, in a really messed up, completely ridiculous, unbelievably stupid sort of way. Oh my God, Pete, I'm so sorry." She wrapped an arm around his neck, and breathed a deep sigh into his shoulder. Everything was going to be okay. She absentmindedly moved her other hand to her stomach and Pete looked down at it.

"We're having a baby," he smiled.

"We're having a baby."

Even though they couldn't erase the things that were said or the choices that were made, they'd gotten though, and were now probably stronger, and _that_ Addison had convinced herself was a good thing. She was going to make sure Pete was always involved from now on; she didn't want him to miss a thing. And in the months to come, Pete was also going to realize just how correct Violet was in saying that pregnant Addison was always, always right.

This was going to be fun.

* * *

School is OVER. Thank God. I just had my last final today and I'm finally remembering what it's like to breathe. Hell. Anyway. Summer is here and I'm sure I'll do better at posting more quickly now that I've finally gotten school OUT of my life. at least for a few months anyway. Hope you liked the chapter. I know it was a lot of talking, but I needed to get the fight resolved. The next chapter will focus more on them and the baby. yay. Thanks as always for reading, let me know what you think.

* * *


	20. Maybe We're Totally Screwed

* * *

Either myself, or my computer, have been having issues with this site for a few days and it hasn't been letting my post, so here's one more attempt. hope it works. I hope that this chapter works. I love it, truly. And though I know I've said it before and then ended up writing more chapters, I can certainly say the next chapter will be the LAST one. But I've been writing a new fic (which is part of the reason why this chapter took me so damn long to sort out, all my thoughts got jumbled together) and I'll start posting the next fic as soon as the last chapter of this one is up. Anyway. thanks to all the readers and reviewers. I think i kept this story going so long mostly thanks to your kind words. let me know what you think of this one. dont throw things.

* * *

The second trimester hormones kicked in almost immediately with absolutely no complaints from Pete—or Addison for that matter. They both knew enough about pregnancy to realize that she wasn't going to always feel like this, so they decided to completely seize the moment (moments) whenever it presented itself, which was quite frequently at this point. Every time he smiled at her, or told her he missed her after a long day of work, or kissed her lips gently while placing a hand on her stomach made Addison want to literally undress him, no matter where they were.

Pregnancy definitely suited Addison. Pete knew that people probably always said that about pregnant women, but truly, Addison was _the_ most beautiful pregnant woman he'd ever seen. Well into her fourth month, she'd hardly begun to show. Her tall slender frame was still toned, with the slightest curve in her belly. She still fit into most of her regular clothes, which was a relief to Addison. Work was keeping her completely occupied and she hadn't had a lot of spare time for shopping—for herself or the baby. Despite the long workdays however, she still seemed to glow constantly, no matter how many hours of sleep she was running on. If it were possible, she seemed to glow even more when she smiled, and Pete was happy to do anything he could to keep that constant.

He checked on her at work as much as he could, and not in an annoying way. He was extremely sweet and protective and was proving to be a very good partner to Addison through all of this. He brought her herbal tea (much to her protest) and ran out for snacks when she was feeling like a certain something. At home he cooked for her without complaining—the craziest of foods she was craving—whatever time of day, or sometimes middle of the night.

They were getting along better than ever, too. After their big fight, they had both realized they never wanted to be _that_ kind of couple. They talked about everything, they had decided that from the beginning, and they weren't ever going to take that part of their relationship for granted ever again. They decided to keep the sex of the baby a surprise, much to the chagrin of the other members of the practice. They all complained, first, about what kind of outfits and toys were they going to by for the kid if they don't know what it's going to be and also, that Naomi obviously knew and was going to make the next five months a living hell for all who were trying to follow along with the secret.

Pete had started clearing everything out of the spare room next to theirs which had basically just been used to store all their extra crap, and Addison decided they just _had_ to make some time to do a little shopping. Pete was actually excited to shop for the baby, he admitted, and Addison did her best to let Pete choose some items for the baby's room that he liked. He had surprisingly good taste, Addison giggled, but then remembered who Pete had married and was positive that he'd never been that way before Addison.

They picked out a few outfits for a little boy and some little dresses for a girl, Addison was too excited to wait, and they'd at least need the basics to get through the first few weeks after the baby was born. Half way through the day, she'd gotten a little frustrated, however, and insisted that they just pick one or the other, because it was stupid to be buying both when they were only having one kid.

"Buy the dress and the jeans, and which ever we don't use, you can just save for the next one," Pete explained, "Unless we have all boys, and then you're screwed."

"I'd be perfectly happy with all boys. Imagine how good looking they'd be," she replied flashing him a huge grin.

"So very true," he agreed, smug grin flashing back at her.

"Can't we just find out the sex of our baby? It would make this whole preparing thing a whole lot easier," Addison half whined to Pete.

"Nope, we're going old school on this. It will be fun, trust me."

"Buying twice as many baby items than we actually _need_ is not fun," she stated trying to keep a strait face. Even Addison knew what that must have sounded like coming from her, the girl with one hundred pairs of shoes. You could never shop too much, and she laughed, just as Pete did, "Okay, fine, have it your way. Make me suffer, as if I'm not already suffering enough. My feet are starting to hurt."

"I told you not to wear those shoes. They don't fit your feet anymore." Pete stated, "And don't you dare say, 'but they're cute'."

"I wasn't going to say that," she lied, of course she was. "I think I'm done shopping for today," she admitted, tossing anything she was holding and wrapped her arm around his neck, "Take me home."

"Right away Mrs. Wilder," Pete agreed, but not before kissing her, long and passionate, not caring if the other people in the store were watching.

--

--

Hours later, panting and sweaty, her head resting gently on his chest, Pete joked, "Have I told you lately that I really, really love you being pregnant."

"Only every few minutes or so," she laughed.

They talked quietly in bed for a long time, about nothing important; and later about possible baby names—they couldn't agree—which didn't surprise either of them, and eventually Pete drifted off to sleep. Addison's mind, however, was full of thoughts and she stayed staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours. Suddenly, though, she felt a pain in her stomach and almost yelled out in protest, until it finally registered in her mind of what was happening. She immediately rolled toward Pete and shook him awake.

"Oh my God, Pete, wake up. Pete!"

"What is it?" he said surprised, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Pete, the baby's kicking," she smiled, reaching for his hand, "Feel this." She looked down as she pulled his hand to her stomach, and when she'd found the spot, she pressed his fingers into her belly, then looked back up to see Pete's face, "Can you feel that?"

At first he couldn't say anything. He just stared at her stomach, taking in the reality of the moment, "Oh, my God," he finally breathed, "Addie, that's our baby," he smiled.

"I couldn't have imagined what this moment was going to feel like. You think you'd be ready for it, but, I just… I can't believe it. It feels so, it feels amazing."

--

--

Over the next few months, Addison had come to the conclusion that their baby was going to be ridiculously hyper. She, or he, had hardly stopped moving since the first night she and Pete had felt the baby kick. The baby's constant moving may or may not have also had something to do with the mood swings Addison had been experiencing (way too frequently) lately. Through it all, though, she'd been happier than she could have ever imagined. Soon, she and Pete were going to have a person to share their lives with. Hopefully the best parts of each of them would become part of the baby, they agreed, and while most days Addison was as sure as ever that raising their child was going to go flawlessly, there were a few days mixed in there, when hormones were raging and emotions were high, it were all she could do to contain the worries and insecurities she felt about becoming the perfect mother.

One afternoon in early May, just one month shy of her due date, she'd treated a mother who'd been completely neglectful of her unborn child, hardly had any pre-natal care, and, who Addison was sure, didn't really even care if she had a healthy baby or not. It took all the strength she had in her not to scream at this woman, and when Addison became abrupt and short with her after she'd asked Addison a few questions, Naomi told Addison that maybe it would be better if she let her finish up with the patient on her own. In a rage, Addison stormed out of the exam room, down the hall to the women's bathroom, locked herself in the second stall, slinked down to the floor and began to cry. For the woman's unborn baby, maybe, but mostly for hers, she thought. All of her worries had come rushing back, and suddenly the very thought of being a failure of a mother had caused her to feel sick to her stomach and unable to breathe, and the fact that she was sobbing harder than ever wasn't helping her anxiety either.

Not five minutes later did an unsuspecting, full bladder Violet storm into the bathroom. As she made her way quickly to the first stall, she could hear sharp breathing and sniffles from the stall next to her. At the sight of four inch red Prada heals flashing in her face, she knew it was Addison next to her. For a moment she thought maybe she should leave and find Pete, or Naomi, but hell, she and pregnant Addison had become even better friends than she and the _not_ pregnant one. They'd recently bonded over bitchy rants about the respective men in their lives, and about the fact that Violet was, much to her (initial) dismay, pregnant also, about eight weeks along.

"Addison?" she called, walking toward the door of the stall and knocking quietly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's… wrong…I'm…fine…" she managed to push out in between shaky, uneven breaths.

"Addison, open the door so we can talk. You do not sound fine."

"I really don't want to talk about it," Addison admitted, but turned the lock on the door anyway and let it swing open so that she and Violet were finally able to see each other.

Violet lowered herself onto the floor next to Addison. "Come on, tell me what happened."

She was silent for a long time before an extremely irritated eye from Violet caused her to finally speak, probably out of fear. "Nothing really _happened_. I'm just realizing that I'm completely unprepared for this. I think I just assumed all this time that the mother thing would just _come_ to me, you know? But now I'm not so sure. I mean, just because I know how to save a baby's life does _not_ guarantee I'm going to make a good parent. I have absolutely no _idea_ how to raise a kid. What in the hell have a gotten myself into?" The tears had begun to fall again, and Violet, for the first time, was speechless. "Well?" Addison asked between sobs, "Your advice on the situation is what's supposed to come next."

"You know, I was freaked out, for like a week when I found out I was pregnant. So, you're freaking out now, no big deal. I think carrying another human being inside you permits _at least_ one freak out."

"Violet, that was the absolute worst shrinking you have ever done."

"Give me a break, my boyfriend got me knocked up too, remember?"

"What if I'm a complete failure at this? I don't want my kid to end up a high school drop out or a crack addict or the kind of kid who resents their mother for not being the kind of parent that he or she deserves. I want to be the kind of parent whose child respects them and who is proud of the person I helped them become. Maybe, I'm hoping for too much I guess, I… I just didn't expect to feel this helpless," she finally took a deep breath and stopped crying again.

"Maybe we're totally screwed," Violet said with a deep sigh.

Addison sighed and cracked a small smile, "Maybe."

"I don't know the first thing about being someone's mother. Just because I'm a shrink doesn't guarantee a perfect up bringing for my child either, in fact, it might just screw the kid up more. But it doesn't mean I'm not going to love my kid with everything I've got… and I'm lucky, too, because I've got an amazing guy who's going to make an even more amazing father, and I guess I just can't be too scared, because if we work hard and do everything we can to give our kid the best possible life we can, there really isn't any reason to believe that we won't raise one of the kids who drops out of high school or does hard drugs. And Addison, you have that too. A perfect husband who loves you more than anything in this world, and if he loves your kid even half as much as he loves you, he or she is going to be the most loved child I know. So, stop worrying. Just be the kind of parent who cares and just love your kid. Everything will fall into place eventually."

"Holy shit, Violet. Where did that come from?" Addison blinked.

"I have no idea," she breathed, "Oh God. Pregnancy has turned me into sap. I'm turning into one of_ those_ women," Violet said in panic.

"Thank you, Violet. I really needed that."

"You're welcome," she replied, but quickly added, "But let's, maybe, keep this conversation between us. I don't need anyone giving me crap for having, you know, what can only be described as a 'chick' moment."

"Locked—in the Addison and Violet vault," she assured her.

Violet shot Addison a 'what in the hell?' look, and then decided it was better to just not ask.

--

--

Later that night, after she'd composed herself again and finished out the work day, Addison and Pete settled themselves onto the couch in the living room and had turned on the TV. Before they'd left the practice, though, Violet had mentioned to Pete some of the things she and Addison talked about, and Pete wanted to make sure she was really okay.

He clicked the mute button and turned toward his wife, "You doing alright? Violet mentioned we might need to talk tonight…" he started, waiting to see if she'd really be up to talking about it.

She'd been unpredictable lately. Usually Pete did a fantastic job at reading her, always knowing what she was thinking, maybe even before she did. But that had changed, among other things, with the pregnancy, and he was fine with that, but sometimes he felt a little frustrated and hurt when he couldn't tell what she was thinking and she wasn't in the mood to share. Still, he tried, and that was all he could do, and even when she was being stubborn, she knew he was trying, and did her best to let him in despite herself.

"I just had a little breakdown today, but, I'm fine," she assured him.

"Really? Because she said you were pretty upset."

"Honestly, does anyone at the damn practice mind their own business, I swear. . ." Addison breathed, sounding irritated.

"She was just worried about you, and so am I. What got you so upset?" Pete asked, running a hand across her shoulder.

"I just, had a moment. I thought our kid deserved a better mom than I could ever hope to be, and I was just scared I was going to screw her up. I don't want to do all the wrong things or say the wrong things. I… I just had a moment. But I'm fine now."

"So, it's a girl today, huh?" Pete asked pulling her closer.

"I guess. But the way she's been kicking me lately makes me think that _she_ has got to be a_ he_."

"Addison, you're going to make a wonderful mother. I've always thought so, even before you were pregnant, even before we were together. It just comes natural to some people, and you, my beautiful wife, happen to be one of those people. Motherhood will suit you wonderfully. It's probably me who should be worried. Although Cooper and I have been reading a few of these books that Violet bought, and they've been very informative."

Addison couldn't help but giggle, "Thank you. It means a lot to me to hear you say that."

"One more month, can you believe it?"

"I can. The baby is driving me crazy, doing summersaults in there. While I can't say I'm excited about the actual act of pushing an eight pound human being out of my vagina, I will say I'll be happy once he's finally out of there and actually here with us."

"Thank you so much for that," he laughed, though not particularly bothered since it's what he saw on a fairly regular basis. Professionally, that is. "You want to have the baby at the practice, right? I mean not a crazy home birth or anything like that?"

"Yes. I want to have the baby at the practice. Nothing crazy, no birthing tubs or anything like that."

"I think we all know you feel about the tub…" he teased, and kissed her forehead, "Ready for bed?"

"Extremely," she sighs and curls under his arm, and nestles her face into the crook in his neck, "But I'm too tired to move."

"Five more minutes and then it's up stairs, because if you fall asleep we're screwed, I can't carry you up the stairs anymore."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She said, trying her best to sound offended.

"Exactly what you think it means." He quipped back, and kissed her gently again, "But I love you."

"I love you, too."

--

--

And just like that, the baby was coming, although, not at all the way they had planned. Two weeks before the actual due date, Addison's water was breaking, right in the middle of lunch with Pete, Cooper, and Violet. Though she begged them just to drive the extra ten minutes and take her to the practice, they all convinced her that St. Ambrose was right around the corner and closest was what they were going with, tough shit, no arguments. That didn't stop her from complaining, loudly, the whole way. She did not want to have her baby in a hospital. It was supposed to be at the practice, quiet, on a Saturday, with Naomi. Call Naomi, she demanded, and Sam, and Dell.

By the time they made it to the hospital, she really didn't have time to complain anymore. The contractions were very close together and she was dilating quickly. They whisked her down the hall and when they reached the swinging doors, Cooper stopped short.

"I don't do so good with the, you know… I think it would be best for everyone if I waited out here."

"Suck it up, Coop. You know you're going to have to go in there when your kid comes out." Pete protested.

"Yeah, well I've still got a few months to work up to that one... It's so weird, next time I see you, you're gonna be a dad."

"I know…" Pete replied, trying to take it all in, but was interrupted by a screaming Addison.

"Damnit Pete, hurry or this kid is going to pop out without you!" she yelled as she got rolled farther away from the two of them.

"… and now it starts," Pete joked of Addison's ranting, which he had been mentally preparing himself for, for quite some time.

When they finally had Addison settled into a room and she'd quieted down again, she asked Violet if she'd stay, too. It took some convincing, but she agreed, and twenty minutes later Addison was pushing. Pete tried his best to remember all the insane accusations and ridiculous promises she was making through gritted teeth so that he could fill the rest of the Oceanside gang in on what they'd missed, but the only ones that were sticking in his mind were, 'This was the worst idea _you've_ ever had!', and '_You're_ giving birth to our next child!'. She also managed to inform Pete a grand total of 11 times, that they were _never_ having sex again, ever. Despite the yelling and frustration, however, Pete never let go of her hand, and in between moments when she wasn't screaming at him, they couldn't help but smile at each other, knowing that their baby's grand entrance was only minutes away. When the doctor informed her that all they needed was one more big push, it was everything Pete could do not to scream at how ridiculously hard Addison was squeezing his hand, but suddenly, he heard the doctor say, 'Congratulations, it's a girl' and he couldn't feel anything but joy.

Pete let go of Addison's hand as the doctor asked him if he'd like to cut the cord, but as he moved away from Addison and toward the doctor, he could hear Addison whisper his name. He turned back toward her, and she called his name again. Before he knew what was happening, machines were beeping and nurses were moving around him. The doctor had finished with the baby who was then handed off to a nurse and then he moved to tend to Addison.

"We need to get her out of this exam room and down the hall to emergency," he informed Pete.

At first Pete couldn't move, couldn't speak, but when they were on their way out the door with his unconscious wife, he began to start after them.

"Mr. Wilder, it would be best if you waited out here."

"But, I'm a doctor. That's my wife. What's happening to her?" He was barely able to choke out.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Wilder. We're going to take good care of her. I'll come and find you as soon as we know her condition."

And with that they were gone, and Pete was sure he had to be imagining all of this. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. They hadn't even held their daughter, he wasn't even sure if Addison had heard the doctor say it was a girl. How could he not have noticed there was something wrong with her? How could it have happened so fast? And now they'd taken her away from him, and all he could do was wait. This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives. Not once in all the ways he imagined this day did this scenario ever play out in his head.

Violet took Pete's hand in hers as they watched the doctors proceed down the long hallway and out of sight. Watching them go, he'd realized he'd never felt more empty inside. He couldn't do this without her. She had to be okay; she just had to. He knew he'd never be able to survive if she didn't.


	21. Your Mother Is Going To Be So Mad

* * *

So here it is. The end. I'm really going to miss writing this story, but it really was time for something new, and I've got a new one I'm pretty excited about that I'll be posting so I hope everyone will enjoy that one too. Plus, it's only about a month until we get new PrP and really, there isn't any better news than that. So thanks again to everyone who read and who hopefully hung in there long enough for me to finally get this posted. Summer kind of got in my way, so blame it, not me. :)

* * *

This was unthinkable. Impossible. This was not happening. Addison was the love of his life. God—had he even told her that? Suddenly he couldn't remember the last time he'd said I love you, the last time they'd kissed, or laughed, or touched. Even if he could, he was sure that none of them had ever meant enough. If he had told her every hour of every day he would still feel like it would never have been enough. She had become his reason for living. When she smiled, or laughed, even yelled at him, he was only filled with more love for her. Addison made him feel that every bad relationship, heartbreak, and lonely moment of his life before her was a distant memory. He couldn't lose his wife—again, couldn't lose Addison. He couldn't be that guy again. He couldn't handle fake sympathy and "I'm sorry for you loss" from every one he knew. This time it would be different, too, because he was absolutely in love with Addison. They had worked so hard for the relationship they'd made, they had a life together, and a child. Their daughter.

It took a moment for the thought to register in his mind again. Their daughter. She had been taken to get a bath and changed. The nurse had told Violet that she and Pete could make their way to the nursery whenever they wanted, but Pete couldn't. He couldn't move. He sat in the waiting room surrounded by Sam, Naomi, Cooper, Dell, and Violet and all he could do was stare. Stare with empty eyes down the hall they'd taken Addison. He should be with her, helping, anything, not out here, not this far away where he knew nothing, could see nothing, say nothing. He was going to go crazy if he didn't find out something soon.

Minutes felt like hours as the time crawled by. Each member of the practice took turns sitting next to Pete offering what little comfort they could, but it was difficult. Addison meant something to them, too. They were one huge family and though no one was willing to admit it out loud, there was no way any of them would get over losing Addison.

It was almost forty-five minutes later when the doctor appeared before them in the waiting room. All remaining color drained from Pete's face as he looked up to meet the doctor's eyes.

"She's been sent to surgery," he started, "We worked to get her heart started again and to stop her bleeding but they needed to open her up to get a better look at the damage we're dealing with. It will be a few hours in surgery before we know or can confirm anything for sure. But she was stable when they put her under, so that is something in our favor. Hopefully her heart can withstand the demands of the surgery. I'll make sure you're informed with any news on her condition in the following hours. In the meantime, Stella," he said motioning to the nurse behind him, "would be happy to take you to see your daughter, Dr. Wilder."

"No, thank you," was all Pete could manage, "Not without Addison, I can't."

They all took their turns to protest but stopped in fear of overstepping, but not Violet.

"Pete, you have to see her. You know Addison wouldn't want the baby to be up there alone. You and I both know she'd kick your ass right now for not wanting to see your baby."

She was right and Pete knew it. But he wasn't sure if he could do it. He should want to hold and protect his child. Find comfort in the little life that he and Addison had created. But that was the problem, he _and _Addison. He wasn't sure he could see her knowing this baby's life may have taken his wife's away from him. He felt awful even thinking this. He'd delivered enough babys in his career to know that there was always a chance of complications and that it was completely ridiculous to hold the helpless, innocent infant accountable, but he couldn't help but feel like he were beginning to resent the baby anyway. How could he ever love this baby if he had to live with the fact that—willing or not—she'd taken his wife from him? It was childish and selfish and he hated himself more by the minute for continuing to think that way, but it wasn't stopping the burning sensation in his chest. He almost couldn't breathe. But his thoughts were interrupted.

"Let's go Pete, now," Violet demanded, but with only love and concern in her voice.

"Violet, I can't."

"You have to Pete, for Addison… and for you and the baby. You need this. Lets go."

Reluctantly and unexpectedly he found himself following Violet silently from the waiting room to the elevators and then through the doors leading to the nursery.

"What if something happens while we're gone?" Pete questioned, his voice so quiet Violet barely caught what he'd asked her.

"I'll go back and wait downstairs and I'll come for you if there's any news, okay?"

Pete nodded and then her words seemed to register more clearly to him. "You're not going in with me?"

"You need to do this yourself. Don't be afraid, you'll love her. It will be easy," Violet encouraged. Pete gazed at Violet in wonder for a moment, unsure at how she could possibly know what he was feeling, but then he'd realized he hadn't bothered to hide any emotion in the last few hours. It was probably written all over his face.

As they reached the door Violet slowly wrapped her arms around Pete's middle and held him tightly for a moment, "Say hi to your daughter for me," she whispered.

He nodded quietly and pushed through the door slowly, afraid that if he went too fast he might change his mind and follow after Violet in the opposite direction. And for a fraction of a second he could have, changed his mind, that is, until he saw her.

He didn't need a nurse to show him to his daughters side. He'd known which baby was his the moment his eyes found hers. She was beautiful, amazing. He felt nothing—fear, anger, resentment—it was all gone in the moment she was finally in his life. He made his way quickly across the room to her and she was staring up at him when he was finally at her side. She had all of his features. Softer and more delicate, of course, but certainly his. The same dark, beautiful eyes, prominent cheek bones, full lips, and the exact same nose. He couldn't help himself then, looking at what he was sure was the greatest thing he'd ever done in his life, his heart physically hurt from so much love, and his eyes began to fill with tears.

He hadn't cried all day, not for himself, not for Addison, but in this moment he was positive that he was crying because he felt complete. Like his life now made perfect sense with his little girl in it. He scooped her up and held her close.

"She looks just like you," the nurse commented from somewhere behind him.

"Her mother is going to be so mad," he teased, stroking his finger across her cheek.

"You can sit here with her if you'd like," she said motioning to a rocking chair in the corner of the room, "If she starts getting fussy I'll make her a bottle and you can feed her."

"Thank you," he said quietly, sitting down. He was suddenly thinking about Addison again. They just had to share this. This happiness and joy was almost too much for just one person to hold on to. He needed her, needed to tell her that the greatest thing they'd ever done together was perfect, beautiful, from her gorgeous face to her perfect little feet, and they'd done that. Pete and Addison.

"I'm so sorry bother you," the nurse said quietly, "But there is a friend of yours… Naomi, I think, outside. She said no word on your wife yet, but that she'd come and sit with you if you'd like."

"Thank you, but could you tell her that I'd like a little more time alone with my daughter, please?"

"Of course," she replied sweetly.

He sat quietly for the longest time just holding the baby, watching her, and she watched him too. After a while he expected her to drift off to sleep, but she held his eyes, like she was waiting for something, he thought. So he decided to talk. He was quiet, his voice small, but loving and tender.

"You are the most beautiful girl in this room, do you realize that? I'd hate to start making you so vain at such a young age and I'm sure most of the fathers around here are telling their daughters the same thing, but honey, you win by a landslide. I am the luckiest dad in the whole world. Dad—do you have any idea how long I've been waiting to hear that? It sounds so nice. I can't wait until I get you hear you call me daddy. That had better be your first word, alright? And it would really piss of your mother if it were. Your mother. She… she is going to fall so madly in love with you, kid, and you'll love her, too. She's pretty damn amazing. She's unbelievably beautiful, stunning. Tied with you for prettiest girl in the world. She's caring and funny, sometimes a little loud and over emotional, but perfect. I hope you take after her. And since you look so much like me there is no doubt she'll insist you inherit her fashion sense. Which means I'll end up with two women in my life who always have to get their way, but if it will make you smile, honey, I'd do anything for you."

When he'd finished, he realized that she'd finally fallen asleep. She was almost more beautiful when she was asleep, if that were possible. He had slowly begun to feel the tole the day had taken on him as well. He was drifting pretty close to sleep himself when the nurse came around the corner again.

"Sorry, Dr. Wilder, but another woman, Violet, is outside. She said that she would come in and sit with the baby if you'd like to go back downstairs to wait on word about your wife."

"Tell her thank you, but I'm fine here, and um, sorry what was your name?" Pete questioned.

"Emily."

"Emily. Thank you for everything, really, you've been very nice but, if anyone else comes asking for me, please just tell them that I'd like to be alone. Okay?"

"Of course, Dr. Wilder. Is there anything I can get you?"

"I've got all I need, thank you," he lied. As much as he wanted the words to be true they just weren't. He had his amazing daughter, yes, but he needed Addison. His heart was breaking, yet so full of love, he couldn't think straight. It was being pulled in every direction and he was sure it would burst at any moment if it didn't return to normal soon. And then he didn't know what to do. The silence ate at him and his mind raced with possibilities and worries. He needed to focus on something else. So he started talking to her again.

"The day I met your mom, I thought she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. And believe me, I'd seen plenty of girls… but there was just something about her. Even now, I'm still not sure what it is exactly, it's just, Addison, she's one of a kind. She was wearing a black dress and she was trying, unsuccessfully, to hit on me. She said a few dirty things that I'll wait to tell you until you're mostly grown up, but it had something to do with elevators where she used to come from… anyway, suddenly she was laughing, and she was just so beautiful, and absolutely insane of course, but beautiful.

It took a while for us to get it together, but when we finally did, I knew she was the best thing that had ever happened to my life, until you that is. I wish you could have been there, to see your mother when she was happy. We got married on the beach, she looked stunning and I'd never felt so sure about the rest of my life until that moment. All of your Aunts and Uncles were there. You'll get to meet them soon, too. You've got no idea how many people you're going to have in your life who are going to love you. You'll be spoiled rotten, but I don't think you'll mind.

I thought I'd never experience falling in love again like I had with your mother, but it's happening again with you, kid. I love you more than you'll ever know."

He kissed her forehead, cheeks, and hands and held her as close as he could. She was still sleeping, but he'd pretend that she'd heard every word he had said. His exhaustion had caught up with him as well, and he finally drifted off to sleep.

It was sometime later that he was startled by the nurse placing a hand gently on his shoulder. She'd only ever bothered him when there was someone asking for him, and he wondered who it could be this time? One of the guys? Sam, Cooper?

"I'm so sorry to wake you, Dr. Wilder," Emily stated.

"That's okay. Is there something that you needed?"

"Yes, Dr. Wilder, I came to tell you…" she hesitated. She probably felt weird approaching him after he'd asked to be alone, Pete thought. She continued slowly," I came to tell you that, well, she's asking for you."

"Who, Naomi or Violet? You know what, it's about time they met their neice anyhow, you can send them in."

"No, it's not your friends, Dr. Wilder," she explained, "It's your wife."

- -

- -

- -

He can't ever really explain the feelings, emotions, love that he experienced in the following hours. Even now, years later, all he knew was that he could never have possibly been blessed with a better life than the one he was living.

That day at the hospital when he finally got to see Addison again was like seeing her again for the first time. He couldn't even put into words the emotion that he felt, but he ran to her side, and silently made a pact to never have to be away from her for that long again ever. If he'd learned anything in the past hours, it was that being without Addison caused him physical pain.

She cried when she first saw Pete. She repeated over and over again that she was so scared that she was going to lose him. He held his arms wrapped tightly around her and assured her that everything was okay now, even though he, as well, had been scared as hell that he was going to lose her, too.

The nurse had brought the baby to her room sometime later and the tears began again from both Pete and Addison. It had felt exactly the way he'd imagined it would. To share that moment, that love, their daughters life together, finally, was more incredible than anything he'd experienced himself that day.

Addison was so grateful, saying that she was glad Pete had been there with the baby when she wasn't. She understood that it must have been hard for him, but she couldn't express how much it meant to her to know that they were together, even without her. She told him she had no worries or insecurities anymore about being parents. She could tell, without a doubt, that fatherhood came natural to him and she was overwhelmed with thought and possibilities for their future.

She was also very happy about the fact that their daughter looked so much like him. "You are a very attractive man, husband of mine, and now I have two incredibly good looking loves of my life."

They stayed that way, just the tree of them and enjoyed everything they could about the fact that they were all together. It was only sometime later, after they baby had been taken back to the nursery to sleep and Pete and Addison were left alone with the doctor, that a new kind of tears began.

Complications with the surgery. She could have no more children. To this day, those were the only words he could remember hearing and the rest of it wasn't important, those were the only ones that mattered.

Addison cried for a long time and Pete held her for as long as she did. They talked, though, and by early in the morning they'd decided that this baby was their miracle and that they would only remember that. They would remember that they were all together, still, and that they would have the rest of their lives to be a family.

Life after the hospital was different for a while, not that they thought it wouldn't be. It took Addison a while to heal after the surgery and that left Pete on baby duty more often than not, but he didn't mind, not at all. She was daddy's little girl. Eventually, though, in time Addison's body healed as well as her spirit, though she tried her hardest to hide any pain she'd felt afterwards at all. Everything felt right when they were all together.

Even tonight, five years later as Pete watched from the deck as Addison chased their little girl through the sand, he couldn't imagine living any other life that the one he was now, with his girls.

"Daddy!" Emily called from the sand, "Are you coming?"

Pete's breath caught in his throat for a second, much like it always did when she called his name and then he replied, "I'm coming. Just getting a jacket for your mother."

"Pete." Addison started, "I'm not cold," she lied as he approached them.

"Yes, but you will be. We'll get halfway down the beach and you'll start batting your beautiful lashes at me, tell me that you're cold, and guilt me into going back for it, so I'm saving myself a trip," he explained, helping her arm by arm into the jacket.

"How well you think you know me," Addison teased, reaching up and kissing him full on the mouth.

"Ewww, mommy that's gross," Emily managed to say through a fit of giggles.

"Oh yeah? I'll show you gross kiddo," Addison playfully threatened as she grabbed her daughter and pulled her into her arms and showered her face with kisses all over.

"Now daddy," she demanded, almost jumping from Addison's arms into Pete's.

He did the same and Emily was in a fit of laughter again.

They began walking down the beach then, watching the sunset, he and Addison hand in hand, Emily running in front of them, splashing in the waves that met her feet. It was amazing really, how much life surprises you. There was a time in his life where he'd told himself this kind of life weren't possible, that the road he was on would eventually end and he would be alone. Somewhere, though, he had to have done something right, something to deserve all of this. He wasn't sure who to thank, really, but he'd never go back, never change anything. This was exactly what he was looking for. And as he looked into his wife's eyes, he could tell she was thinking the same thing, too.

"This is pretty perfect," Addison commented, wrapping an arm around his middle so that she could fit her head against his shoulder.

"Perfect," Pete agreed.


End file.
